Article
Why is corruption not punished at the ballot box?
The role played by news selection
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1Punishment of corruption at the ballot box is reduced by people having an aversion to informing themselves about corruption cases affecting their favourite party.
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2Instead of reading about a corruption case affecting their party, the majority of those surveyed prefer reading news about good performance by that party or news about entertainment.
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3Avoiding reading about corruption means that it is punished to a lesser extent, particularly among people who opt to read entertainment news. If these people were more exposed to news about corruption, electoral punishment of it would increase considerably.
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4Among those citizens who have a greater knowledge of, and interest in, politics, and who prefer to stay abreast of this issue, exposure to news about a corruption scandal affecting their favourite party does not lead to any reduction in the probability of their voting for it.
