Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2025-11-21
Number: 25-065/III
Author-Name: Masako Ikefuji
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Osaka
Author-Name: Jan R. Magnus
Author-Workplace-Name: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Author-Name: Zhehao Wang
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Osaka
Title: The role of news and social pressure in shaping U.S. public opinion on climate change
Abstract: We explore how news and social pressure affect public opinion on climate change in the USA, based on county-level data over the period 1990--2024. Social pressure turns out to be the key factor that shapes public opinion on climate change, much more so than media. Policies that increase the overall level of educational achievement will create more awareness of climate change, but only if these policies don't change the shape of the education distribution. If only right-wing news is available and republicans have complete control over all media, public opinion about climate in democratic counties will not decrease; in fact, it will increase, although only marginally.
Classification-JEL: D72, D83, D91, Q54, C13, C15
Keywords: News coverage, social pressure, demographic diversity, political polarization, dynamics of opinion, climate change, USA
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/25065.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 804.578 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250065