Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10738
Authors: Ruben Durante; Paolo Pinotti; Andrea Tesei
Abstract: We study the political impact of entertainment television in Italy exploiting the staggered introduction of Berlusconi's commercial 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 offce. The effect persists for five elections and is driven by heavy TV viewers, namely the very young and the elders. 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.
Keywords: entertainment; Italy; political participation; television; voting
JEL Codes: D72; L82; Z13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Early exposure to entertainment TV (L82) | Negative impact on cognitive abilities and civic engagement (I24) |
| Negative impact on cognitive abilities and civic engagement (I24) | Increased susceptibility to populist rhetoric (D72) |
| Exposure to Mediaset in old age (J26) | Strong attachment to the network (D85) |
| Strong attachment to the network (D85) | Increased likelihood of watching news on Mediaset channels after 1991 (L82) |
| Increased likelihood of watching news on Mediaset channels after 1991 (L82) | Support for populist movements (D72) |
| Exposure to entertainment TV (L82) | Increased support for Five Star Movement in 2013 (D79) |
| Exposure to Mediaset prior to 1985 (L82) | Support for Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in the 1994 elections (D79) |
| Exposure to Mediaset prior to 1985 (L82) | Support for Forza Italia persists until 2008 (D79) |