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The unexpected influencer: Pope Francis and European perceptions of the recent refugee crisis
[journal article]
Abstract This article analyses the impact of non-informative communication on Europeans' perceptions of European Union (EU) action on the issue of migration. We exploit the fact that Pope Francis's visit to Lesbos Island in 16 April 2016, overlaps with the days of the interviews for a Special Eurobarometer s... view more
This article analyses the impact of non-informative communication on Europeans' perceptions of European Union (EU) action on the issue of migration. We exploit the fact that Pope Francis's visit to Lesbos Island in 16 April 2016, overlaps with the days of the interviews for a Special Eurobarometer survey, such that some respondents were unintentionally exposed to the Pope's speech while others were not. Comparing Catholics and non-Catholics before and after the Pope's visit in a difference-in-differences setting, we show that the papal message persuaded exposed Catholic individuals that EU action on the issue of migration is insufficient. The effect is temporary and varies according to the demographic characteristics of the respondents and by the country’s share of asylum applicants in 2015. Moreover, media exposure of the Pope’s visit, measured by the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone, was greater in Catholic countries, and this might explain the effect found.... view less
Keywords
Eurobarometer; pope; EU; migration; Roman Catholic; religiousness; faith; influence
Classification
Migration, Sociology of Migration
Sociology of Religion
Free Keywords
Eurobarometer 82.3 (2014) (ZA5932); Eurobarometer 83.1 (2015) (ZA5964); Eurobarometer 84.3 (2015) (ZA6643); Eurobarometer 85.1 (2016) (ZA6693 v2.0.0); Eurobarometer 86.2 (2016) (ZA6788); Eurobarometer 87.3 (2017) (ZA6863)
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 75-95
Journal
Oxford Economic Papers, 75 (2023) 1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpac003
ISSN
0030-7653
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed