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This research examines how internet use influences individuals' attitudes towards the US. Using Pew Research Center survey data from 22 countries, the study reveals that older males in Muslim majority countries with negative economic outlooks and no internet access hold less favorable views of the US. The research supports the hypothesis that internet users tend to have more positive opinions of the US, after controlling for gender, age, Muslim majority country, and economic outlook. The findings suggest that public diplomacy efforts should target older males in Muslim majority countries, and increasing internet access could boost favorability by 2%.
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Public Opinion of the USand Internet Usage Amy Wozniak aw8813aa@student.american.edu http://eagle1.american.edu/~aw8813a/ American University School of International Service SIS-600-5: Int'l Affairs Stats & Methods – Dr. AssenAssenov
Research Question & Research Hypothesis • Research Question: What is the relationship between an individual’s attitude towards the US and internet use? • Research Hypothesis: Controlling for gender, age, Muslim majority country, and economic outlook, I expect that an individual who uses the Internet will be more open and have more favorable views of the US.
Literature Review • “Public Opinion regarding Economic and Cultural Globalization: Evidence from a Cross-National Survey” • Martin R. Edwards • Question: Do economic differences affect a persons view of globalization? • Findings : Attitudes about globalization are highly reliant on opinions about the economy • “Stratification and Global Elite Theory: A Cross-Cultural and Longitudinal Analysis of Public Opinion” • Roei Davidson, Nathaniel Poor and Ann Williams. • Question: Do global elites share similar positive opinions about globalization? • Findings : A “global elite” is not emerging, and homogenization is not occurring
Data • Pew Research Center Global Attitudes Survey • Conducted April 7 – May 8, 2010 • 22 countries surveyed • 22,927 respondents • Unit of analysis: Individual • Dependent variable : Attitude towards the US • Level of Measurement: Nominal • Independent variables: • Occasional Internet Use (Ordinal) • Economic Opinion (Ordinal) • Age (Interval Ratio) • Muslim majority country (Nominal) • Gender (Nominal)
Attitude towards the US 0 = Unfavorable opinion 1 = Favorable opinion Mode: 1 N = 22,927 Favorable Opinion: 59.2% Unfavorable Opinion: 40.8% Based on fact that we use large representative samples for each country and that the 22 countries are surveyed, we can make inference that 40.8% of world population has negative attitudes towards the US Countries Surveyed: Argentina Brazil Britain China Egypt France Germany India Indonesia Japan Jordan Kenya Lebanon Mexico Nigeria Pakistan Poland Russia South Korea Spain Turkey US
Bivariate Analysis StatisticsDependent Variable: Attitudes towards US (0=Unfavorable/1=Favorable)
Probit Regression Analysis, Marginal Effects. Dependent Variable: Dependent Variable: Attitude towards US 0=Unfavorable/1=Favorable
Findings & Policy Implications • Findings • Older males from Muslim majority countries with negative economic outlooks and no access to Internet have less favorable views of the US • Accept the Research Hypothesis • Based on this study, we accept the research hypothesis that controlling for gender, age, Muslim majority country, and economic outlook, I expect that an individual who uses the Internet will be more open and have more favorable views of the US. • Policy Implications • Public Diplomacy efforts should be concentrated towards older males in Muslim majority countries • Increasing access to the Internet can increase favorability by 2%
