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Television, health, and happiness: A natural experiment in West Germany

Adrian Chadi & Manuel Hoffmann

Journal of Public Economics2026https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105600article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

• We exploit quasi-random differences in regional media access in West Germany. • There is credible evidence for a positive effect of TV on the well-being of adults. • Rich survey data from various sources reveal the behavioral responses to TV access. • Negative correlations between TV and well-being are likely driven by self-selection. • We discuss a variety of relevant implications from the perspective of public policy. While watching television is one of the most time-consuming human activities, its potential negative effects on well-being are discussed in the literature as a prime example of irrational behavior. We are the first to comprehensively address this possible paradox by exploiting a novel setting in the research on the effects of television for society: a natural experiment in the late 1980s where people in a few geographically restricted areas of West Germany received commercial TV via terrestrial frequencies. Rich panel data combined with precisely calculated frequency signals allow us to determine how regional availability of commercial TV affects time-use, before investigating the implications for individual well-being over time. Contrary to previous research, we find no evidence of negative health impacts when TV consumption increases. For life satisfaction, we even find a positive effect, which is robust across various sensitivity analyses and subgroups of TV viewers. By also considering evidence from expenditure data and from our own separately conducted surveys, we discuss the external validity of our findings as well as possible mechanisms and conclude that correlational evidence on the well-being effects of TV viewing could be driven by negative self-selection.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105600

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{adrian2026,
  title        = {{Television, health, and happiness: A natural experiment in West Germany}},
  author       = {Adrian Chadi & Manuel Hoffmann},
  journal      = {Journal of Public Economics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105600},
}

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Television, health, and happiness: A natural experiment in West Germany

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.