Social media has created new, highly competitive markets for attention. But to what extent does attention on social media generate tangible economic returns and how are these returns characterized? Using a daily dataset of Twitter activity and campaign contributions for US Members of Congress (2019-2020), we show that attention on Twitter, as measured by likes, increases small donations. However, the effect is highly skewed: only a few members benefit substantially, consistent with a winner-takes-all market. These results are confirmed using a geography-based causal design tracking donation patterns across counties, showing that the increase in donations from attention on Twitter comes disproportionately from high Twitter usage areas.
Mastrorocco, N., Ornaghi, A., Draca, M., Böken, J. (In stampa/Attività in corso). The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions. JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION, NA, 1-34.
The Returns to Viral Media: The Case of US Campaign Contributions
NICOLA MASTROROCCO;
In corso di stampa
Abstract
Social media has created new, highly competitive markets for attention. But to what extent does attention on social media generate tangible economic returns and how are these returns characterized? Using a daily dataset of Twitter activity and campaign contributions for US Members of Congress (2019-2020), we show that attention on Twitter, as measured by likes, increases small donations. However, the effect is highly skewed: only a few members benefit substantially, consistent with a winner-takes-all market. These results are confirmed using a geography-based causal design tracking donation patterns across counties, showing that the increase in donations from attention on Twitter comes disproportionately from high Twitter usage areas.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
