Economics Research Seminar – Dr Arieda Muco

Title: The Xerox Effect: Communication Technologies and Political Actions in Autocracy (joint work with Marton Fleck)

Date: Wednesday 11 March 2026

Time: 13:30 to 14:30

Venue: Online

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/38966889222278?p=atGXAraGiGKYgQo4UX

Speaker:           Dr Arieda Muco (WU Vienna)

Arieda Muço is Assistant Professor of Economics at the Central European University (Vienna).

She obtained her PhD in Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics. During her PhD studies, she was a visiting student at CEMFI, Madrid.

Research interests lie within Political Economy, Economic History, Development Economics and Law. Research combines causal inference and Natural Language Processing tools.

Abstract:

We investigate the role of new communication technologies in the fall of autocratic regimes. For this, we use a unique setting: the distribution of photocopy machines, the Xerox program, in communist Hungary. The photocopy machines were seen as a transformative technology, similar to the impact of the Gutenberg press.  We use newly digitalized data on machine allocation between 1985 and 1989 and show that areas with machines are more likely to support democratic values, participate in elections, and establish more entrepreneurial activity in the short and long run. Moreover, we show that adjacent areas are also affected. Our results suggest that new communication technologies help overthrow autocracies by promoting democratic values even when political competition is limited and traditional media is censored.