Local television,citizen knowledge and U.S. senators' roll-call voting |
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| Institution: | 1. Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d''Economia Aplicada, Palma de Mallorca, 07122, Spain;2. University of Warwick, Department of Economics, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK;3. Western University, Department of Economics, London, Ontario, N6G 2V4, Canada;4. CESIfo, Germany;5. University of Birmingham, Department of Economics, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK;6. CEPR, UK;1. Cologne Center for Comparative Politics (CCCP), University of Cologne, Herbert-Lewin-Str. 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany;2. Cologne Center for Comparative Politics (CCCP), Cologne Graduate School (CGS), University of Cologne, Herbert-Lewin-Str. 2, 50931, Cologne, Germany |
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| Abstract: | I study the effect of access to local television on citizens' political knowledge. I do so by utilizing the mismatch between U.S. television markets and state borders, causing some citizens to receive local television which primarily covers neighboring state politics. I find that access to relevant local television causes citizens to be more informed about their senators' roll-call votes, and more likely to hold opinions about these senators. I also find that citizens with access to relevant local television are more likely to assess their senators based on how well the senators' roll-call votes align with the citizens' policy preferences. These results suggest that passively acquired information through television can help individuals evaluate their elected representatives. |
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| Keywords: | Local television Political information Natural experiment Roll-call votes D72 D80 H50 |
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