TY  - JOUR
AU  - Djankov,Simeon
AU  - McLiesh,Caralee
AU  - Nenova,Tatiana
AU  - Shleifer,Andrei
TI  - Who Owns the Media?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8288
PY  - 2001
Y2  - May 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8288
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8288.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Simeon Djankov
min
E-Mail: sdjankov@minfin.bg

Caralee McLiesh
The World Bank
1818 H Street
Washington, DC 20433
E-Mail: cmcliesh@worldbank.org

Tatiana Nenova
E-Mail: tnenova@worldbank.org

Andrei Shleifer
Department of Economics
Harvard University
Littauer Center M-9
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-5046
Fax: 617/496-1708
E-Mail: ashleifer@harvard.edu
AB  - We examine the patterns of media ownership in 97 countries around the world. We find that almost universally the largest media firms are owned by the government or by private families. Government ownership is more pervasive in broadcasting than in the printed media. Government ownership of the media is generally associated with less press freedom, fewer political and economic rights, and, most conspicuously, inferior social outcomes in the areas of education and health. It does not appear that adverse consequences of government ownership of the media are restricted solely to the instances of government monopoly.
ER  -