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Project

Identity, media, and consumer behavior

This research project aims at studying how political events thatsharpen identity affect consumer behavior. We study the impact ofthe Brexit Referendum on consumer choices in the UK betweenBritish and EU grocery products. Using a unique panel dataset froma major retailer in the UK with over half a billion shopping trips for 12million shoppers before and after the referendum, we study howconsumers respond to the referendum results modifying theirconsumption of UK products and EU products. Furthermore, we seekto study how socio-economic factors influenced the shifts inconsumption. Thus, we are going to focus on the role of the locallabor market, education, and immigration in mediating the changes inconsumption, and on the role of supply factors (e.g., availability ofsubstitute products). The second part of the project focuses on therole of the media. Using a dataset of almost 20 million tweets relatedto the Brexit referendum, we are going to study how politicaldiscussion influences economic behavior. Employing machinelearning techniques, we are going to classify tweets in differentclasses (political, economic, or tweets related to immigration), toidentify the mediating effect of the different types of messages inshaping everyday economic decisions. Finally, we will try to tracewelfare implications of stronger identity sentiment.
Date:1 Oct 2021 →  Today
Keywords:Identity and political events, Consumption, Media and politics
Disciplines:Applied economics not elsewhere classified, International economics, Consumer behaviour