Does public broadcasting increase voter turnout? Evidence from the roll out of BBC radio in the 1920s

Yeandle, Alex (2021) Does public broadcasting increase voter turnout? Evidence from the roll out of BBC radio in the 1920s. Electoral Studies, 74. ISSN 0261-3794

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Abstract

There is reason to believe that exposure to public broadcasting can positively affect voter turnout, but these effects are hard to empirically disaggregate. This paper examines the geographically delimited roll out of BBC radio in England, which coincided with successive off-cycle general elections in the 1920s. Combining spatially interpolated census data with constituency-level electoral returns, a matched difference-in-differences design finds that turnout increases with radio exposure. This finding is supported by qualitative examination of the roll out alongside a range of robustness checks. The study makes a contribution to the literature on media and voting behaviour, while enhancing our understanding of how the BBC shapes electoral behaviour in Britain.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/electoral-st...
Additional Information:	© 2021 Elsevier BV
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2021 23:15
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2024 05:39
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/112218

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