Newspaper Circulation and Local Government Efficiency*
研究了报纸发行量如何影响地方政府效率，发现发行量增加与政府效率提升相关，对关注媒体与政治问责的学者有参考价值。
Abstract 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.