Political Bias Research Articles

Extension and Revision of Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanisms and Domestic Real Investment in Nigeria: A Time Series Study Between 1981-2015 by Lucky Anyike Lucky & Uzah Cheta Kingsley

The study by Lucky Anyike and Uzah Cheta Kingsley examines the impact of monetary policy on domestic real investment in Nigeria, using Gross Fixed Capital Formation to Gross Domestic Product ratio as a proxy for domestic real investment. The study uses various independent variables, including the maximum lending rate, credit to private sector as a percentage of GDP, naira to US dollar exchange rate, savings rate, monetary policy rate, prime lending rate, and Treasury bill rate. The authors conclude that monetary policy has a significant effect on the domestic real investment rate. The extension of this paper examines the impact of both monetary and fiscal policy on domestic real investment in Nigeria, while also considering the influence of political biases and the fact that a significant portion of fiscal policy spending may be allocated to current expenditures rather than capital expenditures. While mainstream economic theory suggests that fiscal policy should have a positive effect on real investment rate, this theory may be challenged in Nigeria due to the specific context and allocation of fiscal resources. We also examine the effect of monetary policy on domestic real investment rate in Nigeria by incorporating additional variables in our analysis.

Political Bias on Campus: Experimental Evidence

Does political ideology affect how students judge situations? Although students who are liberal or conservative might both show political bias, they differ in their views of how the world works. This experiment conducted with 739 students manipulates ideology in a scenario about a student government regulating a biased student newspaper. Results showed symmetry in some but not all items, suggesting that bias may have different causal mechanisms depending on ideology.

How Affective Polarization Deepens the Partisan Divide in US Cable News Use

Abstract: Currently, not only are partisans’ feelings toward Democrats and Republicans sharply divided along party lines, but so too are their choices regarding news media. Regarding this polarization, most studies have considered partisans’ selective use of news outlets as a crucial factor in widening affective polarization. However, insufficient attention has been directed to the potential role of affective polarization in selective exposure. Accordingly, this study seeks to fill this gap by verifying the effect of affective polarization on selective exposure and examining a potential mechanism using two-wave panel data. Our findings demonstrate that the degree of affective polarization is positively related to partisan bias in the credibility judgment of pro-party and counter-party cable news channels. In turn, favorable in-group bias in the credibility judgment of cable news channels has a significant effect on selective exposure to cable news outlets, mediating the effect of individual-level affective polarization on selective exposure. Lastly, we discuss the theoretical implications of our findings.

Extension and Revision of Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanisms and Their Impact on Domestic Real Investment in Nigeria: A Time Series Study from 1981 to 2015 by Lucky Anyike and Uzah Cheta Kingsley

The study by Lucky Anyike and Uzah Cheta Kingsley examines the impact of monetary policy on domestic real investment in Nigeria, using the Gross Fixed Capital Formation to Gross Domestic Product ratio as a proxy for domestic real investment. The study uses various independent variables, including the maximum lending rate, credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP, the naira to US dollar exchange rate, the savings rate, the monetary policy rate, the prime lending rate, and the Treasury bill rate. The authors conclude that monetary policy has a significant effect on the domestic real investment rate. The extension of this paper includes an examination of the impact of fiscal policy on domestic real investment in Nigeria, while also considering the influence of political biases and the fact that a significant portion of fiscal policy spending may be allocated to current expenditures rather than capital expenditures. While mainstream economic theory suggests that fiscal policy should have a positive effect on the real investment rate, this theory may be challenged in Nigeria due to the specific context and allocation of fiscal resources. We also examine the effect of monetary policy on the domestic real investment rate in Nigeria by incorporating additional variables in our analysis.

‘Softballs’ for ‘Hardballs’: The congenial political interview on right-wing partisan TV news outlets

Taking a conversation-analytic approach, this article examines potentially shifting norms of political interviewing against the surge of authoritarian populism and increasingly legitimated forms of political and discursive bias on affiliated partisan TV outlets. Based on four political interviews of Donald Trump and Steve Bannon on Fox News and GB News, the analysis documents changes in interviewing practices away from the conventions of accountability interviewing. These changes involve the design of IR questions, the interpersonal dynamics between IR and IE, and the interactional work performed by questions and political interviewing at large. It is demonstrated that, in the aftermath of organizational and ideological disruptions affecting partisan right-wing media such as Fox News, political interviewing enacts a congenial type of questioning, with attendant transformations in the negotiation of accountability. The analysis documents two variations of congenial interviewing practices, one in the absence of adversarial questioning, and the other in the presence of ostensibly accountability questions, that are nevertheless deployed as interviewer resources for doing strategic image-repair work in the benefit of the interviewee. The attested questioning practices have implications for the normalization of authoritarian populist discourses and agendas, and, also, for the future of journalism as watchdog and safeguard of democratic institutions in liberal democracies.

Actual and Perceived Partisan Bias in Judgments of Political Misinformation as Lies

In times of what has been coined “post-truth politics,” people are regularly confronted with political actors who intentionally spread false or misleading information. The present article examines (a) to what extent partisans’ judgments of such behaviors as cases of lying are affected by whether the deceiving agent shares their partisanship (actual bias) and (b) to what extent partisans expect the lie judgments of others to be affected by a bias of this kind (perceived bias). In two preregistered experiments ( N = 1,040), we find partisans’ lie judgments to be only weakly affected by the partisanship ascribed to political deceivers, regardless of whether deceivers explicitly communicate or merely insinuate political falsehoods. At the same time, partisans expect their political opponents’ lie judgments to be strongly affected by the deceiving agents’ partisanship. Surprisingly, misperceptions of bias were also present in people’s predictions of bias within their own political camp.

The Self-Perception and Political Biases of ChatGPT

This contribution analyzes the self-perception and political biases of OpenAI’s Large Language Model ChatGPT. Considering the first small-scale reports and studies that have emerged, claiming that ChatGPT is politically biased towards progressive and libertarian points of view, this contribution is aimed at providing further clarity on this subject. Although the concept of political bias and affiliation is hard to define, lacking an agreed-upon measure for its quantification, this contribution attempts to examine this issue by having ChatGPT respond to questions on commonly used measures of political bias. In addition, further measures for personality traits that have previously been linked to political affiliations were examined. More specifically, ChatGPT was asked to answer the questions posed by the political compass test as well as similar questionnaires that are specific to the respective politics of the G7 member states. These eight tests were repeated ten times each and indicate that ChatGPT seems to hold a bias towards progressive views. The political compass test revealed a bias towards progressive and libertarian views, supporting the claims of prior research. The political questionnaires for the G7 member states indicated a bias towards progressive views but no significant bias between authoritarian and libertarian views, contradicting the findings of prior reports. In addition, ChatGPT’s Big Five personality traits were tested using the OCEAN test, and its personality type was queried using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. Finally, the maliciousness of ChatGPT was evaluated using the Dark Factor test. These three tests were also repeated ten times each, revealing that ChatGPT perceives itself as highly open and agreeable, has the Myers-Briggs personality type ENFJ, and is among the test-takers with the least pronounced dark traits.

“Combine to compete: Improving fiscal forecast accuracy over time”

AbstractBudget forecasts have become increasingly important as a tool of fiscal management to influence expectations of bond markets and the public at large. Difficulties in projecting macroeconomic variables in volatile economic times—together with political bias—thwart the accuracy of budget forecasts. Pooling information from many different forecasters can still lead to substantial gains in predictive accuracy when taking into account time variation. We combine the forecasts of both private and public agencies for Italy over the period 1993–2022, and test absolute and relative forecasting performance over time. Although forecast combinations do not necessarily result in less biased or more efficient forecasts, tracking better performing forecasters and combining their budget predictions produces significantly better predictions.

Quality in Measurement Matters: Adjusted American Bar Association Ratings and Circuit Court Confirmation Hearing Word Choice

Abstract Though widely used in studies of judicial politics, American Bar Association (ABA) ratings have a partisan bias. As a result, when researchers include ABA ratings and ideology in a model together, the results may be biased toward non-findings with respect to the effect of ideology, qualifications, or both. This study leverages new data on the ABA rating process to create a valid and reliable new measure for the qualifications of nominees to the US Courts of Appeals. In an empirical example, I test the new measure against alternative specifications to demonstrate its potential. The empirical example also presents a new data set on circuit court confirmation hearing speech. The findings contrast with well-established conclusions from previous studies.

The representation of Africa as a geography of disease: how the global north media reporting of the monkeypox virus reinforce stereotypes about Africa

This paper examines how the international media reporting on the monkeypox epidemic reinforces stereotypes about Africa and what this means for Africa in global power relations. How European and Western media depict Africa in their reporting of an epidemic creates and reinforces power dynamics and political bias along the lines of Africa being portrayed as a diseased-poor continent. The effect of these global inequalities is evident in the travel ban policies and the unequal distribution of vaccines. The concepts of hegemony, stigma, and labeling theory were used as theoretical approaches to analyze how foreign media hegemony creates and reinforces stereotypes about Africa through media reporting of an epidemic like the 2022 monkeypox virus. Online publications and tweets by Western and European media outlets were used as data to analyze foreign media hegemony while reporting the monkeypox outbreak in Europe and North America. As a counter-hegemony, African journalists reacted to foreign media agencies using African images to report disease outbreaks in the Global North. The conclusion and recommendation of this paper call for investment in African journalism to help Africa tell their own story and for African literature and researchers from Africa to contribute to global biomedical literature.

Beyond participation: Parent activism in child protection as a path to transformative change

In light of calls for reform in child protection systems in various countries, including the UK, there has been a growing interest in involving parents who have lived experience of these systems at both the individual case and broader organizational levels. However, critics have argued that these activities are tokenistic and claimed they perpetuate the status quo. This article aims to conceptualize contemporary parental activism within the context of child protection in the UK, differentiating it from mere participation and exploring its potential to facilitate transformative change.Through a content and thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews with parent activists (n = 28), we identified three key features of parental activism: embracing a critical consciousness and aspiring for change, challenging power and oppression, and developing community agency. By employing a political lens to examine various forms of activism, whether in collaboration with or independently of professional allies and systems, we argue that they enable opportunities for achieving transformative change to arise, leading to new, justice-based social arrangements and structures that enhance children's and families’ welfare and well-being.

Enhancing the fairness of offensive memes detection models by mitigating unintended political bias

Enhancing the fairness of offensive memes detection models by mitigating unintended political bias

Deliberation, mood response, and the confirmation bias in the religious belief domain

A novel task was developed to examine the confirmation bias in religious beliefs, which compares to a classic political confirmation bias task. In Study 1, a balanced number of Christian versus non-religious (liberals and conservative) participants were recruited (n = 402). The data showed strong confirmation bias evidence in both the religious and political beliefs domains, and this bias appears to be enhanced by deliberation. In Study 2, a distinct set of n = 402 Christians and non-religious participants were administered the same religious beliefs task with added mood elicitation. The hypothesis tested was whether dissonant arguments promote negative mood, and whether this negative mood moderates the confirmation bias. The data from Study 2 supported these hypotheses. Data collection, hypotheses, and analysis plans for both studies were preregistered on the Open Science Framework. This paper documents the confirmation bias in the domain of religious beliefs, and results suggest the biological foundation of the confirmation bias includes both deliberative and emotional input, which may imply that comprehensive neural inputs from multiple brain regions promote this behavioral bias. This has implications not only regarding religious beliefs, but it also furthers our understanding of the brain-to-behavior pathway of the confirmation bias.

Profili and González Robles: Biennial Events and Exhibitions between Friendship and Geopolitics

Drawing on archival correspondence, this paper analyzes the relationship between Luis González Robles, Franco’s curator responsible for international displays of Spanish art, and Arturo Profili, the general secretary of the first five editions of the São Paulo Biennial until the late 1950s. Exploring this micro-history of rapprochement, the paper shows how these figures influenced the turbulent scene of cultural negotiations during the first decades of the Cold War, and it lays bare the political bias underpinning the decision of the prizes of the São Paulo and Venice Biennials. This study explores the balance that was achieved through the triangulation of three territories—Latin America, Europe, and the US—reified at the biennials of São Paulo and Venice, and the Spanish art exhibitions held in the United States.

How Erich Fromm Can Help Address the Jordan Peterson Problem in Psychoanalysis

ABSTRACT The current political climate is marked by polarization, which presents new difficulties for psychoanalysis. Erich Fromm, as a Freudian theorist and clinician, is uniquely positioned to address these issues. Fromm is a politically radical thinker who can help psychoanalysis think about society and social injustice beyond the clinical context while avoiding the dangers of excessively orthodox left-wing thinking that risks taking the field away from its core mission. Fromm can help psychoanalysis avoid what we are calling the “Peterson problem,” which is partly the result of provocative and extreme ideas in institutions and psychoanalytic publications that create reputational problems for the field. The “Peterson problem” brings new attention to the political bias of left-liberal authoritarians inside the profession, who focus on changing society rather than healing individuals and neglect audiences outside the liberal university and highly educated classes and thus create space for polarizing figures like psychologist Jordan Peterson to fill the gap. Peterson’s fame and influence serves as a lightning rod for the wider critique of left leaning political and cultural currents in psychoanalysis. Fromm can act as a role model as well as provide the intellectual resources for responding to these challenges.

Present Bias in Politics and Self-Committing Treaties

Present Bias in Politics and Self-Committing Treaties

Tweeting Through a Crisis: The Influence of Presidential Communication and Partisan Bias on Public Covid-19 Responses

Tweeting Through a Crisis: The Influence of Presidential Communication and Partisan Bias on Public Covid-19 Responses

Developing a Community-Based Disaster Relief Management System

This study aimed to enhance disaster relief operations in Tuguegarao City by proposing a more efficient management system framework. Utilizing interviews and thematic analysis, researchers in 2017 identified problems in emergency management, such as inadequate equipment, budget constraints, and issues with relief distribution. The study highlighted confusion and political bias in relief operations, leading to mistrust in the local government. In response, the researchers developed a community-based Disaster Relief Management System (CBDRMS) framework, inspired by Foucault’s power/knowledge analytics. This framework emphasizes transparency, communication, and good relationships among LGUs, NGOs, and recipients. The proposed online system includes a portal and a Facebook Page for data storage and communication, aiming to empower stakeholders and foster discourse for effective disaster relief management. The researchers believe that this approach can overcome barriers, leading to development and improved disaster response.

Systemic Bias in Artificial Intelligence: Focusing on Gender, Racial, and Political Biases

Systemic Bias in Artificial Intelligence: Focusing on Gender, Racial, and Political Biases

Dynamic preferential trade agreement formation and the role of political economy

AbstractUsing a dynamic preferential trade agreement (PTA) formation model, we show that political biases in exporting and import‐competing sectors substantially impact the extent of PTA formation. While both exclusion and free riding incentives constrain the expansion to global free trade in a free trade agreement (FTA) game, only the former incentive arises in a customs union (CU) game. When we endogenize the choice between FTAs and CUs, the tension between the flexibility benefit of FTAs and the coordination benefit of CUs reveals that FTAs always serve as PTA building blocks while CUs may serve as PTA building or stumbling blocks.