The Role of Media, Partisanship, and Macroeconomic Factors in the Economic Assessments: The Case of Poland

Abstract

Ruling party supporters tend to have higher opinions of the state of national economy than the opposition supporters. Is it because of partisan bias, media, or just different conceptions of what is good for the economy? I analyze this issue in Poland, where the gap in economic assessments is particularly high and on the rise. Using monthly survey data, macroeconomic variables and sentiment from public media, I find all of the above to be true. Both groups base their assessments on macroeconomic variables, but there are differences in sign and significance of their parameters. However, media sentiment also plays a role, and there is still additional partisan bias after controlling for socioeconomic factors.