PUBLICISING MALFEASANCE: WHEN THE LOCAL MEDIA STRUCTURE FACILITATES ELECTORAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN MEXICO

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Larreguy, Horacio; Marshall, John; Snyder, James M., Jr.
• 署名单位: Harvard University; Columbia University
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueaa046
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 2291-2327
• 关键词: POLITICAL-ECONOMY; mass-media; CORRUPTION; news; BIAS; coverage; INFORMATION; COMPETITION; persuasion; voters

摘要

Malfeasance in local governments is common in developing democracies. Electoral accountability could mitigate such malfeasance, but may require media market structures that incentivise profit-maximising local media to report on incumbent malfeasance. We test this claim in Mexico, leveraging plausibly exogenous variation in the pre-election release of municipal audits revealing misallocated spending and access to broadcast media. We find that each additional local media station amplifies voter punishment (rewards) of high (zero) malfeasance by up to 1 percentage point. Local media's accountability-enhancing effects are greater when there are fewer non-local competitors and where local outlets' audiences principally reside within their municipality.