Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP9453
Authors: Maja Adena; Ruben Enikolopov; Maria Petrova; Veronica Santarosa; Ekaterina Zhuravskaya
Abstract: How far can the media undermine democratic institutions, and how persuasive can media be in ensuring public support for a dictator?s policies? We study this question in the context of Germany between 1929 and 1939. Using quasi-random geographical variation in radio availability, we show that radio had a significant negative effect on the Nazi vote share between 1930 and 1933, when political news had an anti-Nazi slant. In 1933, this negative effect was fully undone in just one month, after the Nazis seized control of the radio and initiated pro-Nazi radio propaganda campaign. Radio also helped the Nazis to enroll new party members and encouraged denunciations of Jews and other open expressions of anti-Semitism after the Nazis fully consolidated power. Nazi radio propaganda was most effective when combined with other propaganda tools, such as Hitler?s speeches, and when the message was aligned with listeners? prior beliefs as measured by historical anti-Semitism.
Keywords: Antisemitism; Dictatorship; Media; Nazis; Propaganda; Unconsolidated Democracy
JEL Codes: D7
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| radio availability (L96) | Nazi vote share (1930-1933) (N94) |
| Nazi propaganda (Y50) | Nazi vote share (after 1933) (K16) |
| radio exposure (Y60) | Nazi party membership (Y40) |
| radio exposure (Y60) | expressions of anti-Semitism (J15) |
| radio exposure in historically anti-Semitic areas (N93) | effectiveness of Nazi propaganda (H56) |