Mobile internet and the rise of political tribalism in Europe

Manacorda, Marco, Tabellini, Guido and Tesei, Andrea (2022) Mobile internet and the rise of political tribalism in Europe. CEP Discussion Papers (1877). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

We study the political effects of the diffusion of mobile Internet between 2007 and 2017, using data on electoral outcomes and on mobile Internet signal across the 84,564 municipalities of 22 European countries. We find that access to mobile Internet increased voters' support for right-wing populist parties and for parties running on extreme socially conservative platforms, primarily in areas with greater economic deprivation. Using survey data, we also show that mobile Internet increased communitarian attitudes, such as nationalism and dislike of strangers and minorities. We conclude that mobile Internet benefitted right-wing populist parties because, in line with findings in social psychology, it fostered offline tribalism.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Economic Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior D - Microeconomics > D9 - Intertemporal Choice and Growth > D91 - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L86 - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
Date Deposited:	24 Jan 2023 10:09
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 23:58
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/118001

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