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Media attention and choice of major: Evidence from anti-doctor violence in China

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  • Bo, Shiyu
  • Chen, Joy
  • Song, Yan
  • Zhou, Sen

Abstract

We examine the effect of media persuasion on educational choice, and find that Chinese newspaper articles on violence against doctors influence students’ decisions to study medicine at college. We match articles from over 1200 newspapers with an administrative dataset on college entrance enrollment from 2005 to 2011, and find that one additional article on anti-doctor violence leads to a 0.6% decrease in the number of students enrolled in medicine-related majors, and this effect is more pronounced for physician and nursing majors. We perform a series of checks to ensure that the effect is driven by exposure to violence-related news rather than violent incidents themselves. An instrumental variable approach that exploits plausibly exogenous variations in local political turnover and province-wide violent incidents helps establish causality. Moreover, we find that exposure to violence-related news reduces the quality of medical students, measured by their rank in the college entrance examination. Our findings suggest that media coverage can change individuals’ perception of career risks and affect their educational choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Bo, Shiyu & Chen, Joy & Song, Yan & Zhou, Sen, 2020. "Media attention and choice of major: Evidence from anti-doctor violence in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 1-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:170:y:2020:i:c:p:1-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2019.11.012
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    2. Luo, Yiyang & Yang, Songtao, 2023. "Gender peer effects on students’ educational and occupational expectations," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Ze Chen & Yuan Wang & Yanjun Guan & Michael Jie Guo & Rong Xu, 2023. "Long‐term effect of childhood pandemic experience on medical major choice: Evidence from the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1120-1147, May.
    4. Lingpeng Meng & Xiang Yu & Chuanfeng Han & Pihui Liu, 2022. "Does Internet Use Aggravate Public Distrust of Doctors? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Hao Chen & Chao Liu & Xinyi Cao & Bo Hong & Ding-Hau Huang & Chia-Yi Liu & Wen-Ko Chiou, 2021. "Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Doctors’ Mindfulness, Empathy, and Communication Skills," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Faqin Lin & Rui Wang & Kuo Feng, 2024. "Regional favouritism in Chinese university admissions," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(1), pages 209-236, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Media attention; College majors; Occupational choice; Health care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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