How do the media scrutinise central banking?: Evidence from the Bank of England

Christel Koop; Michele Scotto di Vettimo

doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102296

How do the media scrutinise central banking? Evidence from the Bank of England

Christel Koop, Michele Scotto di Vettimo

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Central bank independence has raised questions of accountability ever since its global diffusion in the 1990s, and especially since the financial crisis. Yet, whilst the literature on central banks' legislative oversight has expanded, the role of the media as account holders has been left largely unexplored. We assess media scrutiny by using an original dataset of news articles about the Bank of England published between 1997 and 2020, and by analysing the relationship between central banking outcomes and scrutiny in the form of evaluative and negative coverage of the Bank. We find that the variation in such coverage can be traced back to policy outcomes, but the association is largely confined to the post-crisis period. The findings support a view of the media as instrumental in central bank oversight, but also show the limits of this form of accountability.

Original language	English
Article number	102296
Pages (from-to)	1-15
Number of pages	15
Journal	European Journal of Political Economy
Volume	77
Early online date	24 Mar 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102296
Publication status	Published - Mar 2023

Keywords

central banking
accountability
media scrutiny
performance
automated text analysis
Bank of England

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10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102296

Cite this

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title = "How do the media scrutinise central banking?: Evidence from the Bank of England",

abstract = "Central bank independence has raised questions of accountability ever since its global diffusion in the 1990s, and especially since the financial crisis. Yet, whilst the literature on central banks' legislative oversight has expanded, the role of the media as account holders has been left largely unexplored. We assess media scrutiny by using an original dataset of news articles about the Bank of England published between 1997 and 2020, and by analysing the relationship between central banking outcomes and scrutiny in the form of evaluative and negative coverage of the Bank. We find that the variation in such coverage can be traced back to policy outcomes, but the association is largely confined to the post-crisis period. The findings support a view of the media as instrumental in central bank oversight, but also show the limits of this form of accountability.",

keywords = "central banking, accountability, media scrutiny, performance, automated text analysis, Bank of England",

author = "Christel Koop and {Scotto di Vettimo}, Michele",

note = "Funding Information: The study was supported by Leverhulme Research Fellowship, UK RF-2020-427\7. We would like to thank Martin Weale, Francesca Vantaggiato, Matia Vannoni, Davide Romelli, Maren Froemel, Benjamin Braun, and the reviewers and editor for their comments on earlier versions of the paper. We have also benefited from feedback provided during research seminars at King's, Southampton, and Royal Holloway, as well as the PSA Executive Politics & Governance Seminar and the ICCP5{\textquoteright}s {\textquoteleft}Text as data{\textquoteright} panels. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author(s)",

year = "2023",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2022.102296",

language = "English",

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AU - Koop, Christel

AU - Scotto di Vettimo, Michele

N1 - Funding Information: The study was supported by Leverhulme Research Fellowship, UK RF-2020-427\7. We would like to thank Martin Weale, Francesca Vantaggiato, Matia Vannoni, Davide Romelli, Maren Froemel, Benjamin Braun, and the reviewers and editor for their comments on earlier versions of the paper. We have also benefited from feedback provided during research seminars at King's, Southampton, and Royal Holloway, as well as the PSA Executive Politics & Governance Seminar and the ICCP5’s ‘Text as data’ panels. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)

PY - 2023/3

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N2 - Central bank independence has raised questions of accountability ever since its global diffusion in the 1990s, and especially since the financial crisis. Yet, whilst the literature on central banks' legislative oversight has expanded, the role of the media as account holders has been left largely unexplored. We assess media scrutiny by using an original dataset of news articles about the Bank of England published between 1997 and 2020, and by analysing the relationship between central banking outcomes and scrutiny in the form of evaluative and negative coverage of the Bank. We find that the variation in such coverage can be traced back to policy outcomes, but the association is largely confined to the post-crisis period. The findings support a view of the media as instrumental in central bank oversight, but also show the limits of this form of accountability.

AB - Central bank independence has raised questions of accountability ever since its global diffusion in the 1990s, and especially since the financial crisis. Yet, whilst the literature on central banks' legislative oversight has expanded, the role of the media as account holders has been left largely unexplored. We assess media scrutiny by using an original dataset of news articles about the Bank of England published between 1997 and 2020, and by analysing the relationship between central banking outcomes and scrutiny in the form of evaluative and negative coverage of the Bank. We find that the variation in such coverage can be traced back to policy outcomes, but the association is largely confined to the post-crisis period. The findings support a view of the media as instrumental in central bank oversight, but also show the limits of this form of accountability.

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KW - accountability

KW - media scrutiny

KW - performance

KW - automated text analysis

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