Media Slants and Entrepreneurship

56 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2020 Last revised: 12 Jan 2021

See all articles by Kailei Ye

Kailei Ye

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flagler Business School

Date Written: December 8, 2020

Abstract

The ways in which media news is slanted can shape beliefs about the economy, thereby affecting the decision to start a new business. Using exogenous variation in the introduction of Fox News Channel across US counties, I find that increased exposure to a pro-Republican slant during a Republican administration is positively associated with new firm creation. This effect is more pronounced among less-educated entrepreneurs, who rely relatively more on the media to form their economic expectations. I further find that the newly created firms are of lower quality, as evidenced by lower survival rates, more job losses, and higher small business loan default rates.

Keywords: Media, entrepreneurship, economic beliefs, job creation

Suggested Citation

Ye, Kailei, Media Slants and Entrepreneurship (December 8, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3706533 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3706533

Kailei Ye (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flagler Business School ( email )

McColl Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3490
United States

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