Arieda Muço

Séminaires thématiques
Development and political economy seminar

Arieda Muço

Central European University
The Xerox Effect: Communication Technology and Political Actions in Autocracy
Lieu

MEGA

MEGA

Maison de l'économie et de la gestion d'Aix
424 chemin du viaduc
13080 Aix-en-Provence

Date(s)
Vendredi 23 février 2024| 13:00 - 14:15
Contact(s)

Timothée Demont : timothee.demont[at]univ-amu.fr
Habiba Djebbari : habiba.djebbari[at]univ-amu.fr

Résumé

We investigate the role that new communication technologies play in the fall of autocratic regimes. For this, we use a unique setting: the distribution of photocopy machines, the Xerox program, in communist Hungary. The photocopy machines were seen as a transformative technology, similar to the expansion and impact of the Gutenberg press. We use newly digitized data on machine allocation between 1985 and 1989 and show that areas with machines are more likely to support democratic values, participate in elections, and establish more entrepreneurial activity in the short and long run. Moreover, we show that adjacent areas are also affected. Our results suggest that new communication technologies help overthrow autocracies by promoting democratic values even when political competition is limited and traditional media is censored.

Plus d'informations