Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa, Via Serafini 3, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
Autorità Per Le Garanzie Nelle Comunicazioni, Via Isonzo 21/B, 00198, Rome, Italy.
Int J Health Econ Manag. 2023 Dec;23(4):507-536. doi: 10.1007/s10754-023-09350-3. Epub 2023 Apr 17.
Information can have an important impact on health behavior and, according to the World Health Organization, an 'infodemic' has accompanied the current pandemic. Observing TV news viewership in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic using actual consumption data, we investigate whether demand for national and local news depends on national or local epidemiological developments, as measured by the number of new positives or the number of current positives on any given day. Exploiting the fact that the impact of the pandemic displays a great deal of variation among the different regions, we find that at the regional level, demand for both national and local news responds to national epidemiological developments rather than to local ones. This has implications regarding the incentives for local politicians to take preventive action.
信息对健康行为有重要影响，世界卫生组织称，当前大流行期间出现了“信息疫情”。我们利用意大利在 COVID-19 大流行期间的实际收视数据来观察电视新闻收视情况，研究了对国家和地方新闻的需求是否取决于以新阳性病例数或每日当前阳性病例数衡量的国家或地方流行病学进展。由于大流行的影响在不同地区之间存在很大差异，我们发现，在地区层面，无论是国家新闻还是地方新闻的需求都对国家流行病学进展而非地方进展做出反应。这对地方政客采取预防措施的动机有影响。
