Replication data for: Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Alan S. Gerber; Dean Karlan; Daniel Bergan

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
analysis.do	text/plain	13.8 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
analysis.log	text/plain	575.3 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
apptable1.out	text/plain	1 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
components.out	text/plain	1.6 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
publicdata.dta	application/octet-stream	1.3 MB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
readA.out	text/plain	514 bytes	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
readB.out	text/plain	371 bytes	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
readmeaejapp-20070007.pdf	application/pdf	8.6 KB	10/12/2019 08:12:AM
table3.out	text/plain	570 bytes	10/12/2019 08:12:AM

Project Citation:

Gerber, Alan S., Karlan, Dean, and Bergan, Daniel. Replication data for: Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2009. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113559V1

Project Description

Summary: We conducted a field experiment to measure the effect of exposure to newspapers on political behavior and opinion. Before the 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election, we randomly assigned individuals to a Washington Post free subscription treatment, a Washington Times free subscription treatment, or a control treatment. We find no effect of either paper on political knowledge, stated opinions, or turnout in post-election survey and voter data. However, receiving either paper led to more support for the Democratic candidate, suggesting that media slant mattered less in this case than media exposure. Some evidence from voting records also suggests that receiving either paper led to increased 2006 voter turnout. (JEL D72, L82)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
L82 Entertainment; Media

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-12]

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