TY - JOUR

T1 - The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV

AU - Durante, Ruben

AU - Pinotti, Paolo

AU - Tesei, Andrea

PY - 2019/7/31

Y1 - 2019/7/31

N2 - We study the political impact of commercial television in Italy exploiting the staggered introduction of Berlusconi's private TV network, Mediaset, in the early 1980s. We find that individuals with early access to Mediaset all-entertainment content were more likely to vote for Berlusconi's party in 1994, when he first ran for office. The effect persists for five elections and is driven by heavy TV viewers, namely the very young and the elderly. Regarding possible mechanisms, we find that individuals exposed to entertainment TV as children were less cognitively sophisticated and civic-minded as adults, and ultimately more vulnerable to Berlusconi's populist rhetoric.

AB - We study the political impact of commercial television in Italy exploiting the staggered introduction of Berlusconi's private TV network, Mediaset, in the early 1980s. We find that individuals with early access to Mediaset all-entertainment content were more likely to vote for Berlusconi's party in 1994, when he first ran for office. The effect persists for five elections and is driven by heavy TV viewers, namely the very young and the elderly. Regarding possible mechanisms, we find that individuals exposed to entertainment TV as children were less cognitively sophisticated and civic-minded as adults, and ultimately more vulnerable to Berlusconi's populist rhetoric.

U2 - 10.1257/aer.20150958

DO - 10.1257/aer.20150958

M3 - Journal article

VL - 109

SP - 2497

EP - 2530

JO - The American Economic Review

JF - The American Economic Review

SN - 0002-8282

IS - 7

ER -