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Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies

Author

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  • Alessandro Olper
  • Johan Swinnen
Abstract
Mass media play a crucial role in information distribution and in the political market and public policy making. Theory predicts that information provided by the mass media reflects the media's incentives to provide news to different groups in society and affects these groups' influence in policy making. We use data on agricultural policy from 69 countries spanning a wide range of development stages and media markets to test these predictions. Our empirical results are consistent with theoretical hypotheses that public support for agriculture is affected by the mass media. In particular, an increase in media (television) diffusion is associated with policies that benefit the majority to a greater extent and is correlated with a reduction in agriculture taxation in poor countries and a reduction in the subsidization of agriculture in rich countries, ceteris paribus. The empirical results are consistent with the hypothesis that increased competition in commercial media reduces transfers to special interest groups and contributes to more efficient public policies. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

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  • Alessandro Olper & Johan Swinnen, 2013. "Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(3), pages 413-436.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:27:y:2013:i:3:p:413-436
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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Olper & Johan Swinnen, 2013. "Mass Media and Public Policy: Global Evidence from Agricultural Policies," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(3), pages 413-436.
    2. Resnick, Danielle & Babu, Suresh & Haggblade, Steven & Hendriks, Sheryl L. & Mather, David, 2015. "Conceptualizing Drivers Of Policy Change In Agriculture, Nutrition, And Food Security: The Kaleidoscope Model," Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research Papers 258732, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security (FSP).
    3. Vigani, Mauro & Olper, Alessandro, 2013. "GMO standards, endogenous policy and the market for information," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 32-43.
    4. Zhike Lv & Ting Xu, 2019. "Do economic sanctions affect protectionism? Evidence from agricultural support," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 27-42, March.
    5. Katja Pietrzyck & Nora Berke & Vanessa Wendel & Julia Steinhoff-Wagner & Sebastian Jarzębowski & Brigitte Petersen, 2021. "Understanding the Importance of International Quality Standards Regarding Global Trade in Food and Agricultural Products: Analysis of the German Media," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, April.
    6. Briones Alonso, Elena & Swinnen, Johan, 2016. "Who are the producers and consumers? Value chains and food policy effects in the wheat sector in Pakistan," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 40-58.
    7. Kym Anderson, 2016. "Agricultural Trade, Policy Reforms, and Global Food Security," Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-46925-0, October.
    8. Elena Briones Alonso & Jo Swinnen, 2015. "A value chain approach to measuring distortions to incentives and food policy effects (with application to Pakistan’s grain policy)," Working Papers of LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance 493428, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
    9. Kym Anderson & Anna Strutt, 2023. "From re-instrumenting to re-purposing farm support policies," Departmental Working Papers 2023-04, The Australian National University, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics.
    10. repec:lic:licosd:36615 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Wanki Moon & Gabriel Pino, 2018. "Do U.S. citizens support government intervention in agriculture? Implications for the political economy of agricultural protection," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 119-129, January.
    12. Kym Anderson & Gordon Rausser & Johan Swinnen, 2013. "Political Economy of Public Policies: Insights from Distortions to Agricultural and Food Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 423-477, June.
    13. Elena Briones Alonso & Johan Swinnen, 2015. "A Value Chain Approach to Measuring Distortions to Incentives and Food Policy Effects (with application to Pakistan’s grain policy)," Working Papers id:6895, eSocialSciences.
    14. Nith, Kosal & Ly, Singhong, 2018. "Reinvigorating Cambodian agriculture: Transforming from extensive to intensive agriculture," MPRA Paper 93091, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Dec 2018.
    15. Elnaz Moghimi & Mary E Wiktorowicz, 2019. "Regulating the Fast-Food Landscape: Canadian News Media Representation of the Healthy Menu Choices Act," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-22, December.
    16. Naomi Hossain, 2018. "How the international media framed ‘food riots’ during the global food crises of 2007–12," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(3), pages 677-688, June.
    17. Ramalho,Rita & Saltane,Valentina, 2019. "Does Media Stimulate Reform Efforts ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8984, The World Bank.
    18. Nith, Kosal & Ly, Singhong, 2018. "Reinvigorating Cambodian agriculture: Transforming from extensive to intensive agriculture," MPRA Paper 93086, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Dec 2018.
    19. repec:lic:licosd:32312 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Mihai Mutascu, 2012. "Taxation under media capture," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(4), pages 2752-2767.
    21. Strömberg, David & Prat, Andrea, 2011. "The Political Economy of Mass Media," CEPR Discussion Papers 8246, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    More about this item

    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
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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