Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6785
Authors: Eliana La Ferrara; Alberto Chong; Suzanne Duryea
Abstract: What are the effects of television, and of role models portrayed in TV programs, on individual behavior? We focus on fertility choices in Brazil, a country where soap operas (novelas) portray families that are much smaller than in reality. We exploit differences in the timing of entry into different markets of Rede Globo, the network that has an effective monopoly on novelas production in this country. Using Census data for the period 1970-1991, we find that women living in areas covered by the Globo signal have significantly lower fertility. The effect is strongest for women of lower socioeconomic status and for women in the central and late phases of their fertility cycle, consistent with stopping behavior. The result is robust to placebo treatments and does not appear to be driven by selection in Globo entry. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that novelas, and not just television, affected individual choices. First, people living in areas covered by the signal were more likely to name their children after novela characters. Second, entry of a network that relied on imported shows did not have a significant impact on fertility.
Keywords: development; fertility; television
JEL Codes: J13; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Globo signal presence (F01) | lower fertility rates (J13) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | decrease in probability of giving birth (J19) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | influence on individual fertility preferences (J13) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | smaller family ideals (J12) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | naming patterns of children after novela characters (J13) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | fertility choices (J13) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | stronger negative effect for women aged 25-34 (J79) |
| Globo signal presence (F01) | stronger negative effect for women aged 35-44 (J79) |