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Politicians under investigation: The news Media's effect on the likelihood of resignation

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  • Garz, Marcel
  • Sörensen, Jil

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of news media on the probability of resigning from office of politicians being subject to criminal investigation. Using data on cases in which the political immunity of German representatives was lifted, we find that resignations are more common when the media covers the case intensely. The amount of this news coverage, in turn, depends on the availability of other newsworthy, exogenous events. Therefore, we instrument for coverage of liftings of immunity with the overall news pressure. We estimate the causal effect and find that a change from no coverage to the mean coverage increases the likelihood of resignation by 6.4 percentage points. The effect is likely driven by the crowding out of reports on politicians with the same ideology as the newspaper, rather than reports on representatives with different political leanings. There is no evidence that the reporting affects the chances of conviction.

Suggested Citation

  • Garz, Marcel & Sörensen, Jil, 2017. "Politicians under investigation: The news Media's effect on the likelihood of resignation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 82-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:153:y:2017:i:c:p:82-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.07.007
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bernhardt, Lea & Dewenter, Ralf & Thomas, Tobias, 2023. "Measuring partisan media bias in US newscasts from 2001 to 2012," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Garz, Marcel & Maaß, Sabrina, 2021. "Cartels in the European Union, antitrust action, and public attention," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 533-547.
    4. Garz, Marcel & Pagels, Verena, 2018. "Cautionary tales: Celebrities, the news media, and participation in tax amnesties," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 288-300.
    5. Balles, Patrick & Matter, Ulrich & Stutzer, Alois, 2023. "Television market size and political accountability in the U.S. House of Representatives," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Garz, Marcel & Sörensen, Jil & Stone, Daniel F., 2020. "Partisan selective engagement: Evidence from Facebook," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 91-108.
    7. Jens Foerderer & Sebastian W. Schuetz, 2022. "Data Breach Announcements and Stock Market Reactions: A Matter of Timing?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(10), pages 7298-7322, October.
    8. Ulrich Matter & Alois Stutzer, 2019. "Does Public Attention Reduce The Influence Of Moneyed Interests? Policy Positions On Sopa/Pipa Before And After The Internet Blackout," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(4), pages 1879-1895, October.
    9. Altindag, Duha T. & Mocan, Naci & Zhang, Jie, 2021. "Freedom of Speech, Deterrence, and Compellence in the Parliament," IZA Discussion Papers 14308, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Jetter, Michael & Walker, Jay K., 2018. "The Effect of Media Coverage on Mass Shootings," IZA Discussion Papers 11900, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Garz, Marcel, 2018. "Effects of unemployment news on economic perceptions – Evidence from German Federal States," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 172-190.
    12. Jetter, Michael, 2019. "The inadvertent consequences of al-Qaeda news coverage," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 391-410.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    News media; Political accountability; Prosecution; Resignation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

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