Foreign Policy Transparency: is it driven by media

coverage?A study on Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, and the United States

Jackie Morgan Brune

Study Question:

What are some determinants of foreign policy and foreign aid in particular?

Dep. Variable: Media Coverage

Ind. Variable: ODA allocations

There is an endogenous relationship between both variables.

Background & Analysis Case Study:

FRANCE

Significant aid determinants:

- GNP Per Capita

- Media Coverage (Le Monde)

- Francophonie

- ‘bureaucracy factor’

In Van Belle and Rioux’s study they found that each article in Le Monde is worth $77, 000 USD in aid.

Data Case Study: The UK

Method

Method- 1st regression

Control Variables: (1985-1998)

Aid commitments Population

Net Coverage Democracy

GNP Per Capita Trade

Language Variable Unrest

Colonial Variable Negative

Need

Results- 1st Regression

For each country its aid commitments and net media coverage (radio, tv, press) are positively and significantly correlated.

Net Coverage in other countries needs to be controlled for as if it is correlated there could be a spurious relationship.

Method- 2nd Regression

Added control Variables:

(controls for media coverage in other cities)

SWINET

GERNET

FRANNET

USNET

CANNET

JAPNET

Results 2nd Regression

Results 2nd Regression

Swiss coverage is the only one positively correlated with British aid commitments.

This could be due to a lack of data.

The hypothesis cannot be verified as Swiss coverage is correlated, for all the other countries studied the hypothesis is verified.

Each country’s aid commitments studied in this project was correlated with another country’s coverage.

Take-Aways - Media is an important foreign policy influence and

does contribute to its transparency.

- Other factors that influence aid commitments: Trade, GNP Per Capita, Current Events, and Political Interest.

While no general conclusion was reached it is clear that aid allocations and media coverage are significantly correlated.