Replication Data for: How Cable News Reshaped Local Government

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Project Description

Summary: This paper shows that partisan cable news broadcasts have a causal eﬀect on the size and composition of budgets in U.S. localities. Using exogenous channel positioning as an instrument for viewership, we show that exposure to the conservative Fox News Channel reduces both revenues and expenditures. Multiple mechanisms drive these results: Fox News improves election chances for local Republicans, alters politician campaign agendas, and directly shifts voter policy preferences on ﬁscal issues. Consistent with the priorities of small-government conservatism, we ﬁnd evidence that the reduction in public services is compensated by increased private provision, in particular through higher student attendance at private schools. The "Fox News Eﬀect" is not just limited to vote shares; it also moves policy to the right.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms: public budget; partisan media; local governments

JEL Classification:
      D70 Analysis of Collective Decision-Making: General
      H70 State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations: General
      L82 Entertainment; Media

Geographic Coverage: United States

Methodology

Geographic Unit: counties, places

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Published Versions

V1 [2023-09-12]

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