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Newspaper Circulation and Local Government Efficiency *
Author(s) -
Bruns Christian,
Himmler Oliver
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.725
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1467-9442
pISSN - 0347-0520
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9442.2010.01633.x
Subject(s) - newspaper , circulation (fluid dynamics) , politics , incentive , local government , accountability , norwegian , government (linguistics) , economics , public economics , public administration , business , political science , advertising , market economy , law , linguistics , philosophy , physics , thermodynamics
In this paper, we examine the role of the newspaper market for a key aspect of political accountability: the efficient use of public funds by elected politicians. Newspapers are a major provider of the political information voters use to monitor their elected officials, especially at the local level. Thus, the incentives for politicians to reduce budgetary slack should be stronger in jurisdictions where the electorate is well informed by newspapers. Using panel data on the circulation of some 150 newspapers in Norwegian municipalities, we show that increases in local newspaper circulation are associated with higher levels of local government efficiency.