Media Exposure and Occupational Choice

Abstract

Can temporary access to media from a different political and economic system shape occupational choices decades later? We study Voice of Free China (VFC), a Taiwan-based broadcaster, during mainland China’s relaxation of restrictions on external radio listening in 1979–1989. Combining model-predicted reception with census and survey data, we compare cohorts whose adolescence overlapped with the opening with older cohorts in the same county. Greater adolescent access reduced subsequent bureaucratic employment. This pattern persists among first-generation migrants, alongside greater entrepreneurship, linking adolescent exposure to occupational choices beyond the county of origin. Evidence on political attitudes and protest activity suggests that these occupational effects partly reflect changes in views of government. These findings suggest that temporary media access can have lasting effects on views of government and career preferences.