The Dual Effects of Media on Corruption. A Cross-Country Study.

Abstract

This paper brings to the spotlight a topic which has been overlooked so far: the dual effects of media on corruption. Research has focused primarily on highlighting the positive effects of media in tackling corruption, although some authors have pointed out that media has also a harmful effect. The aim of this work is to reconcile these two approaches by establishing a conditioning; the level of media freedom. Conducting an OLS, the author has found that countries that have a larger degree of media freedom, the existence of more outlets, measured by the number of newspapers, decrease the level of corruption. However, when a country has low levels of free media, the result is the