Narratives and Business Creation

Jonathan Fu, Mrinal Mishra and Steven Ongena
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Jonathan Fu: University of Zurich
Mrinal Mishra: The University of Melbourne
Steven Ongena: University of Zurich - Department Finance; Swiss Finance Institute; KU Leuven; NTNU Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

No 25-35, Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series from Swiss Finance Institute

Abstract: Do articles on the "American Dream" in local U.S. newspapers spur local entrepreneurship? To answer this question, we assess almost 40,000 such articles from the most recent decade using generative artificial intelligence. We find that one additional American Dream article published in a U.S. county is associated with a one percent increase in local entrepreneurship, an effect lasting for two subsequent years and which is four times larger when the narrative is "rags-to-riches". We deploy the narration of "educational-attainment-as-the-pathway-to-riches" to reach a causal interpretation. Our findings imply that regular media narratives can have a sizable impact on important economic outcomes.

Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2025-03
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2535

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