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The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV

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  • Pinotti, Paolo
  • Tesei, Andrea

Abstract

We study the political impact of entertainment television in Italy exploiting the staggered introduction of Berlusconi's commercial TV network, Mediaset, in the early 1980s. We find that individuals with early access to Mediaset all-entertainment content were more likely to vote for Berlusconi's party in 1994, when he first ran for offce. The effect persists for five elections and is driven by heavy TV viewers, namely the very young and the elders. Regarding possible mechanisms, we find that individuals exposed to entertainment TV as children were less cognitively sophisticated and civic-minded as adults, and ultimately more vulnerable to Berlusconi's populist rhetoric.

Suggested Citation

  • Pinotti, Paolo & Tesei, Andrea, 2015. "The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV," CEPR Discussion Papers 10738, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10738
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entertainment; Italy; Political participation; Television; Voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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