Abstract
We examine how news outlets’ communication of macroeconomic information affects policy support during the COVID-19 crisis. In our survey experiment based on a representative sample from Germany, respondents are exposed to an expert forecast of GDP growth. Individuals either receive no information, the baseline forecast, or real-world media frames of the same forecast. We find that positive framing of economic growth increases policy support. This effect is stronger for respondents with more pessimistic macroeconomic expectations. Negatively framed economic news are perceived as more credible and hence less surprising in times of recession, not translating into political opinion.
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