Mobile Internet and Political Tribalism in Europe" with Marco Manacorda and Guido Tabellini

Abstract:

Did mobile Internet contribute to the rise of populist, anti-elitist and non-traditional parties across Europe? Was it instrumental in amplifying public discontent, shaping the ideology of its users in the face of specific economic shocks? Did it foster changes in voters’ beliefs and preferences across policy issues? We investigate these questions using geo-referenced data on 3G and 4G mobile phone signal coverage, together with geo-referenced survey data and electoral results for over 80,000 municipalities in 25 European countries between 2007 and 2017.