Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don't (39 page)
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Authors: John R. Lott Jr.
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93
Pauline Jelinek, “Election Turnout Rate Tops 40 Percent,” Associated Press, November 8, 2006 (
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELN_TURNOUT?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTME=2006-11-08-18-54-03
).
Pauline Jelinek, “Election Turnout Rate Tops 40 Percent,” Associated Press, November 8, 2006 (
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ELN_TURNOUT?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTME=2006-11-08-18-54-03
).
94
John R. Lott, Jr., “A Review Article on Donald Wittman’s The Myth of Democratic Failure,”
Public Choice
, vol. 92, no. 1-2 (July 1997): 1-13.
John R. Lott, Jr., “A Review Article on Donald Wittman’s The Myth of Democratic Failure,”
Public Choice
, vol. 92, no. 1-2 (July 1997): 1-13.
96
For example, in 2004, 55 percent of journalists at national media outlets claimed that the media was “not critical enough” of President Bush, while only 8 percent believed that the media has been “too critical.” By contrast, a similar poll during 1995 found that 48 percent of the press believed that “too little” coverage had been given to President Clinton’s accomplishments, while only 2 percent thought that “too much” coverage went to his achievements. See the Times Mirror Survey, see MRC’s June, 1995 edition of MediaWatch. Pew Research Center for the People and the press, Survey of Journalists, March 10 - April 20, 2004. Patterson and Donsbach’s survey of journalists lead them to conclude that “there is . . . a perceptual gap between journalists’ self-image and their actions, and it leads them to reject any suggestion that they are politically biased.” Thomas Patterson and Donsbach Wolfgang, “News Decisions: Journalists as Partisan Actors,”
Political Communication
(1996): 466.
For example, in 2004, 55 percent of journalists at national media outlets claimed that the media was “not critical enough” of President Bush, while only 8 percent believed that the media has been “too critical.” By contrast, a similar poll during 1995 found that 48 percent of the press believed that “too little” coverage had been given to President Clinton’s accomplishments, while only 2 percent thought that “too much” coverage went to his achievements. See the Times Mirror Survey, see MRC’s June, 1995 edition of MediaWatch. Pew Research Center for the People and the press, Survey of Journalists, March 10 - April 20, 2004. Patterson and Donsbach’s survey of journalists lead them to conclude that “there is . . . a perceptual gap between journalists’ self-image and their actions, and it leads them to reject any suggestion that they are politically biased.” Thomas Patterson and Donsbach Wolfgang, “News Decisions: Journalists as Partisan Actors,”
Political Communication
(1996): 466.
97
This discussion is based upon John R. Lott, Jr. and Kevin Hassett, “Is Newspaper Coverage of Economic Events Politically Biased?: Reagan to Bush II,” AEI working paper 2004 (
http://ssrn.com/abstract=588453
). Hassett and I assembled a list of dates on which important economic news was released for most newspapers from 1991 to 2004. We also followed four major papers and the Associated Press for a slightly longer period—from 1985 onward. We then used Nexis—a computer database of news stories from 389 newspapers—to gather all 12,620 headlines that ran in America’s newspapers covering economic news stories on those dates. We looked at headlines the day of and the day after the data were announced but excluded follow-up and feature stories in order to link the headlines directly with the economic numbers.
This discussion is based upon John R. Lott, Jr. and Kevin Hassett, “Is Newspaper Coverage of Economic Events Politically Biased?: Reagan to Bush II,” AEI working paper 2004 (
http://ssrn.com/abstract=588453
). Hassett and I assembled a list of dates on which important economic news was released for most newspapers from 1991 to 2004. We also followed four major papers and the Associated Press for a slightly longer period—from 1985 onward. We then used Nexis—a computer database of news stories from 389 newspapers—to gather all 12,620 headlines that ran in America’s newspapers covering economic news stories on those dates. We looked at headlines the day of and the day after the data were announced but excluded follow-up and feature stories in order to link the headlines directly with the economic numbers.
98
For example, unemployment fell by 2 percentage points during Reagan’s second term and by 1.5 percentage points during Clinton’s second term,
while GDP growth was similar (3.8 and 4.0 respectively) during both periods. Yet, Reagan received 7 percent fewer positive headlines than Clinton even after accounting for the slight differences in economic conditions. Unsurprisingly, during Reagan’s second term, those who believed the economy was getting worse exceeded those who thought it was improving. The difference was almost 17 percentage points. During Clinton’s second term, the reverse was true - optimists about the economy outnumbered pessimists by 6 percentage points.
For example, unemployment fell by 2 percentage points during Reagan’s second term and by 1.5 percentage points during Clinton’s second term,
while GDP growth was similar (3.8 and 4.0 respectively) during both periods. Yet, Reagan received 7 percent fewer positive headlines than Clinton even after accounting for the slight differences in economic conditions. Unsurprisingly, during Reagan’s second term, those who believed the economy was getting worse exceeded those who thought it was improving. The difference was almost 17 percentage points. During Clinton’s second term, the reverse was true - optimists about the economy outnumbered pessimists by 6 percentage points.
99
There have been a few other attempts to measure systematically media bias. One interesting paper by Groseclose and Milyo developed an index of how conservative or liberal media coverage was by counting the number of times that a media outlet cited various think tanks and comparing that with the number of times that members of Congress cited the same think tanks in speeches on the floor of the House and Senate. By comparing the citation patterns between politicians and media, they constructed an Americans for Democratic Action score for each media outlet, and thus ranked it on the same scale that politicians are ranked from liberal to conservative. They found that “Most of the mainstream media outlets that we examined . . . were closer to the average Democrat in Congress than they were to the median member of the House.” This may indicate bias, but since an article may also quote an academic or a business, government, or union official, examining only think tanks could give a mistaken picture of any bias. Most reporters interview both sides for a story (though the vast majority of news stories in their data set only mention one of the 200 think tanks that they categorize as conservative or liberal), and any bias is likely to be much more subtle.
There have been a few other attempts to measure systematically media bias. One interesting paper by Groseclose and Milyo developed an index of how conservative or liberal media coverage was by counting the number of times that a media outlet cited various think tanks and comparing that with the number of times that members of Congress cited the same think tanks in speeches on the floor of the House and Senate. By comparing the citation patterns between politicians and media, they constructed an Americans for Democratic Action score for each media outlet, and thus ranked it on the same scale that politicians are ranked from liberal to conservative. They found that “Most of the mainstream media outlets that we examined . . . were closer to the average Democrat in Congress than they were to the median member of the House.” This may indicate bias, but since an article may also quote an academic or a business, government, or union official, examining only think tanks could give a mistaken picture of any bias. Most reporters interview both sides for a story (though the vast majority of news stories in their data set only mention one of the 200 think tanks that they categorize as conservative or liberal), and any bias is likely to be much more subtle.
Another paper by DellaVigna and Kaplan claims that FOX News is conservative because people in particular areas tended to vote more conservatively after their cable systems started carrying FOX News. Even if one accepts their test and results, this does not constitute evidence that FOX is “conservative,” only that it is not as liberal as the other media that it was replacing. See Tim Groseclose and Jeff Milyo, “A Measure of Media Bias,”
Quarterly Journal of Economics
, 2005, 1191-1237, and Stefano DellaVigna and Ethan Kaplan, “The FOX News Effect: Media Bias and Voting,” University of California at Berkeley, March 30, 2006.
Quarterly Journal of Economics
, 2005, 1191-1237, and Stefano DellaVigna and Ethan Kaplan, “The FOX News Effect: Media Bias and Voting,” University of California at Berkeley, March 30, 2006.
100
The discussion in this section is based upon: John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2, December 1999: S127-S157; John R. Lott, Jr.,”An Explanation for Public Provision of Schooling: The Importance of Indoctrination,”
Journal of Law and Economics
, vol. 33, no.1, April 1990: 199-231; John R. Lott, Jr.,” Why is Education Publicly Provided?: A Critical Survey,”
Cato Journal
, vol. 7, no. 2, Fall 1987: 475-501; John R. Lott, Jr., “The Institutional Arrangement of Public Education: The Puzzle of Exclusive Territories,”
Public Choice
, vol. 54, no. 1, 1987: 89-96; and John R. Lott, Jr.,”Alternative Explanations for Public Provision of Education,” UCLA Dissertation, 1984.
The discussion in this section is based upon: John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2, December 1999: S127-S157; John R. Lott, Jr.,”An Explanation for Public Provision of Schooling: The Importance of Indoctrination,”
Journal of Law and Economics
, vol. 33, no.1, April 1990: 199-231; John R. Lott, Jr.,” Why is Education Publicly Provided?: A Critical Survey,”
Cato Journal
, vol. 7, no. 2, Fall 1987: 475-501; John R. Lott, Jr., “The Institutional Arrangement of Public Education: The Puzzle of Exclusive Territories,”
Public Choice
, vol. 54, no. 1, 1987: 89-96; and John R. Lott, Jr.,”Alternative Explanations for Public Provision of Education,” UCLA Dissertation, 1984.
101
J. Bruce Amstutz,
Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation
, (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1986). Another example of Soviet opposition to the family is the official propagation of the tale of Pavlik Morozov in the 1930s. According to the story, the twelve-year-old Morozov denounced his own father to the authorities for allegedly assisting efforts by private farmers to resist the state’s collectivization of their farms. Pavlik, who was later killed by his own family members, was immortalized as a martyr for communism in songs and stories taught to Soviet children until the regime’s collapse. The moral of Morozov’s story was to trust the state, not one’s own family.
J. Bruce Amstutz,
Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation
, (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 1986). Another example of Soviet opposition to the family is the official propagation of the tale of Pavlik Morozov in the 1930s. According to the story, the twelve-year-old Morozov denounced his own father to the authorities for allegedly assisting efforts by private farmers to resist the state’s collectivization of their farms. Pavlik, who was later killed by his own family members, was immortalized as a martyr for communism in songs and stories taught to Soviet children until the regime’s collapse. The moral of Morozov’s story was to trust the state, not one’s own family.
102
Charles Glenn,
Educational Freedom in Eastern Europe
, (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1995) 52.
Charles Glenn,
Educational Freedom in Eastern Europe
, (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1995) 52.
103
Carlsson was later Sweden’s Prime Minister. See Roland Huntford,
The New Totalitarians
(New York: Stein and Day, 1972), 222 and 233.
Carlsson was later Sweden’s Prime Minister. See Roland Huntford,
The New Totalitarians
(New York: Stein and Day, 1972), 222 and 233.
104
Huntford, 1972, 222. See also Sherwin Rosen, “Public Employment and the Welfare State in Sweden,”
Journal of Economic Literature
(June 1996): 729-740.
Huntford, 1972, 222. See also Sherwin Rosen, “Public Employment and the Welfare State in Sweden,”
Journal of Economic Literature
(June 1996): 729-740.
105
John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2 (December 1999): S127-S157.
John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2 (December 1999): S127-S157.
107
Edward Taborsky,
Communism in Czechoslovakia
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press), 1961, 542.
Edward Taborsky,
Communism in Czechoslovakia
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press), 1961, 542.
109
Quote from John Loftus, former federal prosecutor, “Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam,” FOX News, November 5, 2006, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
(
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?103106/103106_Obsession2&FNL&Watch%20a%20Preview%20of%20%27Obsession%27&acc&World&320&News&422&&&new#
).
Quote from John Loftus, former federal prosecutor, “Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam,” FOX News, November 5, 2006, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
(
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?103106/103106_Obsession2&FNL&Watch%20a%20Preview%20of%20%27Obsession%27&acc&World&320&News&422&&&new#
).
110
Discussion from Wayne Kopping on “Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam,” FOX News, November 5, 2006, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?103106/103106_Obsession2&FNL&Watch%20a%20Preview%20of%20%27Obsession%27&acc&World&320&News&422&&&new#
).
Discussion from Wayne Kopping on “Obsession: The Threat of Radical Islam,” FOX News, November 5, 2006, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. (
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?103106/103106_Obsession2&FNL&Watch%20a%20Preview%20of%20%27Obsession%27&acc&World&320&News&422&&&new#
).
111
West argues that education in New York was essentially universal prior to government subsidies. “The term ‘universal’ is intended to mean, something like, ‘most,’ ‘nearly everybody,’ of ‘over 90 percent’ then we lack firm evidence to show that education was not already universal prior to the establishment of laws to provide a schooling which was both compulsory and free.” E.G. West, “The Political Economy of American Public School Legislation,”
Journal of Law and Economics
, 1967, 127.
West argues that education in New York was essentially universal prior to government subsidies. “The term ‘universal’ is intended to mean, something like, ‘most,’ ‘nearly everybody,’ of ‘over 90 percent’ then we lack firm evidence to show that education was not already universal prior to the establishment of laws to provide a schooling which was both compulsory and free.” E.G. West, “The Political Economy of American Public School Legislation,”
Journal of Law and Economics
, 1967, 127.
112
John R. Lott, Jr., “Alternative Explanations for Public Provision of Education,” UCLA Economics Ph.D. Dissertation, May 1984.
John R. Lott, Jr., “Alternative Explanations for Public Provision of Education,” UCLA Economics Ph.D. Dissertation, May 1984.
113
E.G. West, “The Political Economy of American Public School Legislation,”
Journal of Law and Economics (
1967): 105.
E.G. West, “The Political Economy of American Public School Legislation,”
Journal of Law and Economics (
1967): 105.
114
The argument here is not that there is a mistake being made here, but simply that teachers incentives are set up to reflect the desires of those who want to have larger government. This argument also applies to public ownership of the media—National Public Radio employees likely have the same type of incentives as pubic school teachers.
The argument here is not that there is a mistake being made here, but simply that teachers incentives are set up to reflect the desires of those who want to have larger government. This argument also applies to public ownership of the media—National Public Radio employees likely have the same type of incentives as pubic school teachers.
115
Like the previous example, this compares totalitarian and free countries of the same total income.
Like the previous example, this compares totalitarian and free countries of the same total income.
116
John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2 (December 1999): S144-S146.
John R. Lott, Jr., “Public Schooling, Indoctrination, and Totalitarianism,”
Journal of Political Economy
, vol. 107, no. 6, part 2 (December 1999): S144-S146.
117
A survey of 10 countries (Canada, England, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Soviet Union, Sweden, and West Germany) found that citizens have much more choice in selecting between public doctors or different public hospitals than in selecting the public school or teacher for their child. Unlike schooling, customers of public medical care do not bear the large cost of changing their residence in order to change doctors. While public doctors and hospitals do not compete for patients on the basis of price, they do compete on the basis of quality, and doctors and administrators’
salaries vary depending on the number of patients served. Forbidding salaries to vary on this basis or stopping patients from choosing among doctors would seem to lower the quality of care produced. See John R. Lott, Jr., “The Institutional Arrangement of Public Education: The Puzzle of Exclusive Territories,”
Public Choice
, vol. 54, no. 1 (1987): 89-96.
Conclusion: Parting ThoughtsA survey of 10 countries (Canada, England, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Soviet Union, Sweden, and West Germany) found that citizens have much more choice in selecting between public doctors or different public hospitals than in selecting the public school or teacher for their child. Unlike schooling, customers of public medical care do not bear the large cost of changing their residence in order to change doctors. While public doctors and hospitals do not compete for patients on the basis of price, they do compete on the basis of quality, and doctors and administrators’
salaries vary depending on the number of patients served. Forbidding salaries to vary on this basis or stopping patients from choosing among doctors would seem to lower the quality of care produced. See John R. Lott, Jr., “The Institutional Arrangement of Public Education: The Puzzle of Exclusive Territories,”
Public Choice
, vol. 54, no. 1 (1987): 89-96.
Index
AAAA
ABA.
See
American Bar Association
See
American Bar Association
ABC
ABC News
abortion: in 1970s; crime and; out-of-wedlock births and;
Roe v. Wade
and; Supreme Court, U. S. and; “unwanted” children and; unwanted fatherhood and
Roe v. Wade
and; Supreme Court, U. S. and; “unwanted” children and; unwanted fatherhood and
Abortion: Law, Choice, and Morality
(Callahan)
(Callahan)
Abramoff, Jack
ABSCAM
academia.
See
universities
See
universities
academic freedom
ACLU.
See
American Civil Liberties Union
See
American Civil Liberties Union
ACORN.
See
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
See
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
ACT.
See
America Coming Together
See
America Coming Together
Adams, Frank
Adelphia
affirmative action: consent decrees and; crime and; norming and; in police departments; strength standards and; testing standards and
Africa, HIV drugs and
African Americans: affirmative action in police departments and; crime and; Election 2000 and; out-of-wedlock births and; voter turnout, suppression of and; voting machines and
Airbus
airline travel
Alabama
Alaska
Allerca
Alterman, Eric
AMA.
See
American Medical Association
See
American Medical Association
America Coming Together (ACT)
American Airlines
American Bar Association (ABA)
American Center for Voting Rights
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Medical Association (AMA)
Americans for Democratic Action
AP.
See
Associated Press
See
Associated Press
apartheid
Apple
Arizona
Arkansas
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ashenfelter, Orley
Asher, Herb
Associated Press (AP)
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Association of Private Weather-Related Companies
Association of Trial Lawyers of America
AT&T
auto insurance
automobiles: lemon thesis and ig; LoJack antitheft device and
BBacanovic, Peter
baseball
Beckel, Bob
Berry, Mary Francis
Biden, Joseph
black markets: price controls and; taxation and
Blagojevich, Rod
Bloomberg, Michael
Blumenauer, Earl
Blumstein, Alfred
Blunt, Matt
Brady Act (1994)
Brady Campaign
Brazil
Breyer, Stephen
“broken windows” policing methods
Bronars, Steve
Brown & Williamson cigarette makers
Buckley v. Valeo
Buffalo, University of
Bush, George H. W.
Bush, George W.: campaign finance and; Election 2000 and; gun control and; media and; reputation and
Business Week’s
Butterfield, Fox
CCalifornia
California, University of, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Callahan, Daniel
campaign finance: 527 groups and; “double-giving” and; elections, competitiveness of and; government spending and; incumbents, protection of and; McCain-Feingold bill (2002) and; media bias and; negative political advertising and; PACs and; reputation and; special interests and; Supreme Court, U. S. and; vote-buying and; vote buying and
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