Media Ownership, Political Power, and Long-Run Development: Evidence from Brazil's Re-Democratization

• Grant number: 24/19294-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: January 13, 2025
• End date: July 12, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Economics - Quantitative Methods Applied to Economics
• Principal Investigator: Luis Eduardo Negrão Meloni
• Grantee: Luis Eduardo Negrão Meloni
• Host Investigator: Gianmarco Leon-Ciccota
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Economia, Administração, Contabilidade e Atuária (FEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Spain

Abstract

This study explores the impact of media ownership on political power and long-term economic development during Brazil's re-democratization process. Focusing on the 1986 legislative elections and the surge in Radio and TV concessions between 1987 and 1988, when around one-fifth of the National Constitutional Assembly members received concessions Motter (2019), we employ a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to assess whether being elected as a constitutional deputy increased the likelihood of receiving media concessions. We further analyze how these concessions affected political incumbency, the formation of political dynasties, and economic outcomes at the municipal level. Our findings (can) reveal the role of media ownership in shaping political influence and its potential link to regional inequalities, particularly through differences in public investment and poor public-good provision.