Recent years have seen a massive penetration of mass media, particularly television, in the developing world. We now have the opportunity to use this medium – within reach of people of lower educational level – to transmit information that can further development. Starting from the available evidence, the speaker will examine to what extent this is a viable strategy and identify a number of avenues for future research.
In the first part of her talk, Dr. La Ferrara will review existing data concerning the effects of TV on various socioeconomic indicators, like fertility preferences, education, gender norms and social capital. In the second, she will focus on television programs with a specifically educational purpose (educational entertainment) by reference to the theoretical concepts of social psychology and experimental evidence from economics, including aspects like financial education, financial decision-making and knowledge of and involvement in public works projects.
Moderator
Juuso Valimaki