1. Let's speak more? How the ECB responds to public contestation
- Author
-
Manuela Moschella, Nicola Martocchia Diodati, Luca Pinto, Moschella, Manuela, Pinto, Luca, Martocchia Diodati, Nicola, E. Bressanelli, C. Koop, C. Reh, Manuela Moschella, Luca Pinto, and Nicola Martocchia Diodati
- Subjects
Public Administration ,Sociology and Political Science ,business.industry ,communication ,media_common.quotation_subject ,05 social sciences ,legitimacy ,Public administration ,Public opinion ,politicisation ,050601 international relations ,0506 political science ,ECB, legitimacy, politicisation, communication, central banking, public opinion ,Political science ,public opinion ,050602 political science & public administration ,Institution ,business ,Empirical evidence ,central banking ,Settore SPS/04 - Scienza Politica ,Legitimacy ,media_common ,ECB - Abstract
Although the post-crisis politicisation of the ECB is widely acknowledged, little empirical evidence exists about how this important non-majoritarian institution has responded to public contestation. This article starts filling this gap by investigating whether and how public opinion affects ECB communication. Based on automated text analysis of the speeches delivered by Executive Board members (2001–2017), the article shows that negative public opinion is associated with an expansion of the scope of ECB communication and a reduction in the salience attributed to monetary policy issues. These results challenge the view according to which the ECB conceives of its sources of legitimation based almost exclusive on the achievement of its mandate. In particular, our findings suggest that increased politicisation leads the ECB to reassess the sources of its legitimation strategy from a strategy based on output achievement towards one based on participation to broader policy debates.
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF