Voting Power and the Supply of News Media: QuasiExperimental Evidence from India

Researchers investigate how media owners react to changes in the political importance of vote choices in different areas

Abstract

Political information conveyed through both traditional and new media outlets is known to have a major impact on electoral outcomes, distributional patterns, and the relative salience of political issues. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the supply of news media in democratic contexts and in particular, the extent to which media actors respond to political (as opposed to purely economic) incentives. Researchers investigate how media owners react to changes in the political importance of vote choices in different areas. The data allows them to causally identify the relationship between relative voting power and the supply of news media. This calls for an increased scrutiny of the evolution of the media market, and in particular, of its concentration.

This output is part of the Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) programme

Citation

Julia Cagé, Guilhem Cassan and Francesca Jensenius (2021) Voting Power and the Supply of News Media: QuasiExperimental Evidence from India. Economic Development and Institutions Policy Brief. Oxford Policy Management

Voting Power and the Supply of News Media: QuasiExperimental Evidence from India

Published 30 November 2021