Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies

Alessandro Gavazza, Mattia Nardotto and Tommaso Valletti

The Review of Economic Studies, 2019, vol. 86, issue 5, 2092-2135

Abstract: We empirically study the effects of broadband internet diffusion on local election outcomes and on local government policies using rich data from the U.K. Our analysis shows that the internet has displaced other media with greater news content (i.e. radio and newspapers), thereby decreasing voter turnout, most notably among less-educated and younger individuals. In turn, we find suggestive evidence that local government expenditures and taxes are lower in areas with greater broadband diffusion, particularly expenditures targeted at less-educated voters. Our findings are consistent with the idea that voters’ information plays a key role in determining electoral participation, government policies, and government size.

Keywords: Local elections; Voter turnout; Local government expenditure; Media; Internet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H72 H75 L82 L86 N44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (72)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Internet and politics: evidence from U.K. local elections and local government policies (2019)
Working Paper: Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies (2017)
Working Paper: Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies (2017)
Working Paper: Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:restud:v:86:y:2019:i:5:p:2092-2135.

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