Do People Avoid Morally Relevant Information? Evidence from the Refugee Crisis

Eleonora Freddi

The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2021, vol. 103, issue 4, 605-620

Abstract: Combining click data from a Swedish newspaper and administrative data on asylum seekers in Sweden, I examine whether a larger presence of refugees in a municipality induces people to avoid news that may encourage welcoming the newcomers. Exploiting the unexpected inflow of refugees to Sweden during 2015 and their exogenous allocation across Swedish municipalities, I find that people living in municipalities where the relative number of refugees is larger read fewer articles about asylum seekers. The decrease in clicks is 36% larger for more empathic articles and is correlated with less engagement in activities aimed at welcoming refugees.

Date: 2021
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Working Paper: Do People Avoid Morally Relevant Information? Evidence from the Refugee Crisis (2017)
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