University / Organisation : Toulouse School of Economics, France

Paper or project ? paper

Title : Radio (Counter)propaganda and Brave New World

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Abstract : This paper examines the influence of international counter-propaganda on political attitudes and economic outcomes in authoritarian contexts. Utilizing the decriminalization of foreign radio listening in mainland China between 1979 and 1989, I study the impact of exposure to the Voice of Free China (VFC) broadcasts from Taiwan. Combining predicted radio signal strength with individual-level census and survey data, and employing a cohort-based difference-in-differences strategy, I find that greater exposure to VFC broadcasts decreased the likelihood of bureaucratic employment, increased entrepreneurial activity, reduced trust in local officials, and lowered Chinese Communist Party membership. These results contribute to the literature on media effects, political trust formation, and political participation under authoritarian regimes by providing new evidence on the role of external media in shaping individual political and economic outcomes.