Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies

LICOS Discussion Paper No. 232/2009

30 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2009

See all articles by Alessandro Olper

Alessandro Olper

Università degli Studi di Milano; KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS)

Johan F. M. Swinnen

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS); European Commission, DG II

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 2009

Abstract

Mass media plays a crucial role in information distribution and thus in the political market and public policy making. Theory predicts that information provided by mass media reflects the media's incentives to provide news to different types of groups in society, and affects these groups' influence in policy-making. We use data on agricultural policy from 60 countries, spanning a wide range of development stages and media markets, to test these predictions. We find that, in line with theoretical predictions, public support to agriculture is strongly affected by the structure of the mass media. In particular, a greater role of the private mass media in society is associated with policies which benefit the majority more: it reduces taxation of agriculture in poor countries and reduces subsidization of agriculture in rich countries, ceteris paribus. The evidence is also consistent with the hypothesis that increased competition in commercial media reduces transfers to special interest groups and contributes to more efficient public policies.

Keywords: Mass Media, Media Structure, Information, Agricultural Protection, Political Economy

JEL Classification: D72, D83, Q18

Suggested Citation

Olper, Alessandro and Swinnen, Johan F.M., Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies (February 2009). LICOS Discussion Paper No. 232/2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1360661 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1360661

Alessandro Olper

Università degli Studi di Milano ( email )

Via Celoria, 2
Milano, 20133
Italy
+390250316481 (Phone)
+390250316486 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://users.unimi.it/olper/

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS) ( email )

Waaistraat 6 - box 3511
Leuven, 3000
Belgium

Johan F.M. Swinnen (Contact Author)

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS) ( email )

Waaistraat 6
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

European Commission, DG II ( email )

Wetstrath 200
Office 15172
1049 Brussels
Belgium
+32-2-2960442 (Phone)
Not available (Fax)

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