Selective Accountability: Performance Indicators and Legislators’ Behavior, with Charles Louis-Sidois (Vienna University of Economics and Business) & Elisa Mougin (ENS de Lyon, CERGIC)
We study how data-driven press coverage affects legislators. Since 2009, Nosdeputes.fr and Nossenateurs.fr have published indicators of parliamentary activity in France. Compiling a comprehensive dataset of press articles, we track how these metrics are used and estimate their effects. We find a positive impact on parliamentary performance, mainly driven by general press coverage, suggesting that monitoring tools must be visible to be effective. Individual mentions have no effect, indicating that accountability operates at the collective level. Coverage also shapes the nature of activity, without evidence of strategic manipulation. Variation in media pressure, measured by congruence and competition, emerges as the main mechanism. [PDF]
Presentations: EEA Congress, ENS de Lyon/Bologna PhD Workshop, Medialab (Sciences Po), 7th Economics and Politics Workshop
Nation-Building and Political Violence in Decolonizing France, with Sophie Hatte (ENS de Lyon, CERGIC)
Television and Nationalization of Politics: Evidence from France