19.3. OUTCOMES
We review the impact of media exposure on a series of outcomes. We separate the
outcomes broadly by field of study so as to facilitate the access to researchers interested
in a particular topic. We start with the impact of television on education, highlighting
lessons on identification as well as on the direct versus substitution channel.
The next topic, family choices, provides the clearest evidence on imitation of media
role models, whereas the following three topics—the study of migration, environmental
impacts, and health—provide interesting caveats to the imitation effects. The study of
crime provides evidence both on the emotional impact of the media and, once again,
on the importance of the substitution effect.
Next, we turn