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Price discrimination in political advertising: Evidence from the 2012 presidential election.

Authors :
Moshary, Sarah
Source :
RAND Journal of Economics (Wiley-Blackwell); Sep2020, Vol. 51 Issue 3, p615-649, 35p
Publication Year :
2020

Abstract

In 2010, the US Supreme Court loosened contribution limits to Political Action Committees (PACs), sparking fears that big donors could exert outsize influence on elections by funding PAC advertising. However, PACs are potentially handicapped when buying advertising time; data from 2012 reveal that PACs pay 32% above regulated campaign rates. I estimate a model of demand for advertising by PACs, exploiting the misalignment of state and media market borders to address price endogeneity. I find that prices reflect willingness‐to‐pay for viewer demographics rather than media bias. The estimates further suggest that network‐owned stations discriminate more successfully than do local affiliates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
07416261
Volume :
51
Issue :
3
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
RAND Journal of Economics (Wiley-Blackwell)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
145532461
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-2171.12335