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The Political Economy of Attention and Electoral Accountability

Author

Listed:
  • Stutzer, Alois
  • Matter, Ulrich
  • Balles, Patrick

Abstract

In this survey, we investigate the general mechanisms underlying the political economy of attention and review their empirical relevance, in particular for electoral accountability. The focus is on exogenous or stimulus-driven attention that political actors try to win or divert when pursuing their private interests. The corresponding evidence refers to representatives' reactions to general shifts in media attention and persuasive content as well as to short-term fluctuations in attention when exploiting anticipated attention shifts or attention shocks. In the context of digitization and the Internet, we consider the substitution effects between alternative media sources, the role of algorithmic content selection in informational segregation (or echo chambers), and the new opportunities of individual-level targeting strategies to steer attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Stutzer, Alois & Matter, Ulrich & Balles, Patrick, 2024. "The Political Economy of Attention and Electoral Accountability," Working papers 2024/10, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    • Handle: RePEc:bsl:wpaper:2024/10
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    accountability; attention; media; representative democracy; re-election;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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