Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/245772 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14721
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Watching television is the most time-consuming human activity besides work but its role for individual well-being is unclear. Negative consequences portrayed in the literature raise the question whether this popular pastime constitutes an economic good or bad, and hence serves as a prime example of irrational behavior reducing individual health and happiness. Using rich panel data, we are the first to comprehensively address this question by exploiting a large-scale natural experiment in West Germany, where people in geographically restricted areas received commercial TV via terrestrial frequencies. Contrary to previous research, we find no health impact when TV consumption increases. For life satisfaction, we even find positive effects. Additional analyses support the notion that TV is not an economic bad and that non-experimental evidence seems to be driven by negative self-selection.
Subjects: 
health
happiness
well-being
natural experiment
television consumption
time-use
entertainment
CSPT
ArcGIS
mass media
JEL: 
C26
D12
I31
H12
J22
L82
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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