Telecracy: Testing for Channels of Persuasion

Abstract

We consider the long-lived slant towards Berlusconi in political information on Italian TV. We exploit a shock to the slanted exposure of viewers: idiosyncratic deadlines to switch to digital TV from 2008 to 2012, which increased the number of freeview channels tenfold. The switch caused a drop in the vote share of Berlusconi’s coalition by between 5.5 and 7.5 percentage points. The effect was stronger in towns with older and less educated voters. At least 20% of digital users changed their voting behavior after the introduction of digital TV. Our evidence is consistent with the existence of persuasion-biased viewers.

Keywords: Persuasion, Media Economics, Elections, Behavioral Economics

JEL Classification: D72, L82, D03