Does the Media Help the General Public in Understanding Inflation?

B-Tier
Journal: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics
Year: 2018
Volume: 80
Issue: 6
Pages: 1185-1212

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper studies whether media information helps the general public in understanding inflation. We combine detailed Dutch household survey data on media usage, inflation perceptions, and inflation expectations. We find no evidence that more‐often informed members of the general public do better in understanding inflation. In fact, more frequent readership of popular newspapers is associated with slightly less accurate inflation perceptions. There is also no evidence that usage of non‐print media leads to more accurate of views on inflation. One implication of these results is that central banks might need to consider more direct ways of engaging with the general public.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:obuest:v:80:y:2018:i:6:p:1185-1212
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25