Replication data for: Telecracy: Testing for Channels of Persuasion

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Guglielmo Barone; Francesco D'Acunto; Gaia Narciso

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
20130318_data			10/13/2019 02:56:AM
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/12/2019 10:56:PM

Project Citation:

Barone, Guglielmo, D’Acunto, Francesco, and Narciso, Gaia. Replication data for: Telecracy: Testing for Channels of Persuasion. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2015. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E114587V1

Project Description

Summary: We consider the long-lived slant towards Berlusconi in political information on Italian television (TV). We exploit a shock to the slanted exposure of viewers: idiosyncratic deadlines to switch to digital TV from 2008 to 2012, which increased the number of free view channels tenfold. The switch caused a drop in the vote share of Berlusconi's coalition by between 5.5 and 7.5 percentage points. The effect was stronger in towns with older and less educated voters. At least 20 percent of digital users changed their voting behavior after the introduction of digital TV. Our evidence is consistent with the existence of persuasion-biased viewers. (JEL D72, D83, L82, L88)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      L82 Entertainment; Media
      L88 Industry Studies: Services: Government Policy

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-13]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.