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The Influence of Media Use on Laymen’s Monetary Policy Knowledge in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Bernd Hayo

    (University of Marburg)

  • Edith Neuenkirch

    (University of Marburg)

Abstract
We analyse German citizens’ knowledge about monetary policy and the European Central Bank (ECB), as well as the public’s use of mass communication media to obtain information about the ECB. We employ a unique representative public opinion survey of German households conducted in 2011. We find that a person’s desire to be informed about the ECB, together with the use of various media channels to keep informed, are decisive for both (i) the person’s perception of how much he or she knows about the ECB and (ii) the person’s actual knowledge. The media-related influence varies by level of education and is stronger for subjective knowledge. Women are significantly less interested in and knowledgeable about the ECB. We conclude that the ECB is not only well advised to continue with education programmes designed to convince the public of the importance of knowing about monetary policy, but to take the gender-specific differences into account in doing so.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernd Hayo & Edith Neuenkirch, 2015. "The Influence of Media Use on Laymen’s Monetary Policy Knowledge in Germany," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201511, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:201511
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    2. David-Jan Jansen & Matthias Neuenkirch, 2017. "News Consumption, Political Preferences, and Accurate Views on Inflation," Research Papers in Economics 2017-03, University of Trier, Department of Economics.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ECB; Economic knowledge; Subjective knowledge; Information;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A20 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - General
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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