News Market and Polarization
Date
2023
Authors
Singh, Gurmukh
Editors
Advisors
Tchatoka, Firmin Doko
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Thesis
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Abstract
The thesis analyzes the news market under two structures: online media and offline media. It differentiates
these structures on the basis that online firms can tailor news content to individual readers.
This customization capability has implications for the level of price discrimination permissible under
these structures.
Our analysis reveals that under the online equilibrium, more news stories are supplied at lower prices
and to a larger audience. We find that factors that impede firm entry, such as high fixed entry costs,
government restrictions, and network effects, make consumers worse off by either reducing the quantity
of news in the market, or increasing the prices paid by consumers, or both.
We also find the affective polarization to be more pronounced in the online equilibrium when consumers
exhibit a preference for sensational news. This suggests that the customization feature of
online platforms influences the degree to which a society is affectively polarization. Policymakers
should explore strategies to mitigate the effects of affective polarization caused by this channel that is
unique to the online media.
School/Discipline
School of Economics and Public Policy
Dissertation Note
Thesis (M.Phil.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Economics and Public Policy, 2023
Provenance
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