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Television and Economic Voting in US Presidential Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2021

B.K. Song Open the ORCID record for B.K. Song [Opens in a new window]
B.K. Song*
Affiliation:
Sogang University, Republic of Korea
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In this study, I investigate how information made available by the introduction of television affected the importance of the national economy in the context of US presidential elections from 1944 to 1964. Using the fact that television stations were introduced in counties across the United States at different points in time, I assess the effect of television on economic voting using a difference-in-differences design. I first show that television stations spent more time covering national politicians than did local newspapers in the 1960 presidential election. More national news increased the salience of the national economy in presidential elections. There was no evidence that television affected prospective pocketbook voting.

Keywords

TelevisionEconomic VotingUS Presidential Election
Type
Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 1622 - 1634
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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