Negative media reporting and its effects on performance information use in public spending

David Lindermüller, Matthias Sohn and Bernhard Hirsch

Public Management Review, 2022, vol. 24, issue 7, 1024-1047

Abstract: Translating performance information about public services into spending allocations is difficult. Drawing on blame-avoidance theory, we propose that negative media reporting affects the rationale for spending public resources for public services. A process tracing laboratory experiment shows that negative media reporting increases the willingness to spend more money for public services, particularly on a relatively low-performing public service. Furthermore, we find that negative media reporting shifts participants’ attention in the predecisional information search process towards performance information on the relatively low-performing public service. The paper helps explain decision makers’ use and interpretation of performance information in spending allocations.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1080/14719037.2021.1882543

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