| dc.description.abstract | My dissertation consists of three essays on the topics of hate crime, media, and corruption. In the first chapter, I investigate the role news media plays in promoting hatred through the news coverage of mass shootings. I first show through observational data that the media treats hate-motivated mass shootings differently by focusing more on the shooter, and this possibly results in an increase in hate crimes against the group that was targeted in the shooting. I then design and run an online information experiment to causally examine the impact of news coverage on spreading hatred. Results from the experiment show that receiving details about the shooter’s hate ideology increases Republicans’ support for the shooter. Emphasis on the shooter’s identity and background increases Democrats’ support for both the shooter and the shooter’s hate ideology. The latter finding is driven by the more right-leaning individuals within the Democrat sample. My findings highlight media’s role in spreading hatred and provide important guidelines on media’s approach to hate-motivated mass shootings.
In the second chapter, coauthored with Jason Lindo and Jiee Zhong, we study the influence of high-profile individuals on anti-social behaviors. In particular, we investigate whether Donald Trump’s “Chinese Virus” tweets contributed to the rise of anti-Asian incidents. We find that the number of incidents spiked following Trump’s initial “Chinese Virus” tweets and the subsequent internet search activity for the phrase rose dramatically. Difference-in-differences and event-study analyses indicate that this spike was significantly more pronounced in counties that supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Our study shows that high-profile individuals such as Trump can have detrimental effects, even when the technology of social media substantially limits what they can say. Our findings have important implications given the recent rise of populist leaders pushing anti-social beliefs and behaviors on topics ranging from vaccine hesitancy to the treatment of immigrants.
In the third chapter, coauthored with Dmitry Ryvkin and Danila Serra, we use a laboratory experiment to study the self-selection of individuals into committees that have discretionary power over the distribution of public resources. We examine how the status quo level of corruption and the individual’s propensity for corruption affect the decision to join the committee. Results from our experiment show that subjects have higher interest in joining a corrupt committee compared to an honest committee, regardless of their own propensity for corruption. We also find evidence that committee members’ voting behavior and communication pattern appear in line with their “type”, i.e., corrupt individuals are more likely to support embezzlement. Taken altogether, our results highlight the importance of the screening process for public servants. A screening method that focuses on characteristics such as honesty and pro-sociality can be an effective way to reduce corruption. | |
