freedom of the press presentation professional version

Freedom of the Press

Tre Rodriguez

What factors contribute?

Introduction: Freedom of Press

Purpose of Research

To use regression analysis to quantify the contribution of various factors to predict a country's ranking on the Freedom of the Press Index of 2008.

BackgroundWhy does a free press matter?

Information

Accountability

Why are influences important?

Foster supportive environment

Mitigate/predict suppressors

Background

“Reporters Without Borders … reflects the degree

of freedom of journalists

and news organizations …”

Dependent VariableY = Country Ranking on the Freedom of

Press Index 2008 Collected Data on 173 countries

Between Sept 2007-Sept 2008

Index accounts for Murders Imprisonment Physical attacks/threats Censorship Confiscation Searches Harassment

Freedom of Press Index - Partial

Rank Country Rank Country

1 Iceland 22 Costa Rica

2 Luxembourg 23 Hungary

3 Norway 24 Namibia

4 Estonia 25 United Kingdom

5 Finland 26 Surinam

6 Ireland 27 Trinidad and Tobago

7 Belgium 28 Australia

8 Latvia 29 Japan

9 New Zealand 30 Slovenia

10 Slovakia 31 Cyprus

11 Sweden 32 Ghana

12 Switzerland 33 Greece

13 Canada 34 Mali

14 Austria 35 France

15 Denmark 36 Bosnia and Herzegovina

16 Czech Republic 37 Cape Verde

17 Lithuania 38 South Africa

18 Netherlands 39 Spain

19 Portugal 40 Taiwan

20 Germany 41 United States of America

21 Jamaica  

Possible Explanatory Variables (Xs)

Urbanization Level

Infant Mortality

Literacy Rate

Predominant Religion

GDP per Capita

System of Government

Analytical Choices - 1

Functional Form for Regression

Semi log: some variables impact increase at a decreasing rate, so we take the log of their values to normalize their impact.

Analytical Choices - 2

Specification – Inclusion of x Variables

TheoryT-testAdjusted R-squaredBias

Analytical Choices – 3

RANK = 92.94 + 53.19AUTH + 68.63MUS + (t = 3.90) (t = 9.30)

-7.54 log GDP + 68.51COM + € (t = 3.44) (t = 4.14)

Adjusted R2= .57 Durbin-Watson = .50

Technical Questions

1. Specification: Independent variables

2. Specification: Functional Form

3. Multicollinearity

4. Serial Correlation

5. Heteroskedasticity

Any violations of OLS Assumptions?

Conclusion: Scope/Applicability of Results

They do say: Sample Specific (173 countries) Holding present variables constant

They do not: Account for influence of

omitted variables Prove causation

World Map: Freedom of Press

How free is your press?

Data Sources