Dept. Economic Analysis Research Seminars Dear all,   The following  virtual seminar will take place next week: Department of Economic Analysis & ICAE Research Seminars: WEDNESDAY, January 20th, 2021, 13:00 h Marcello Sartarelli (ICAE - UCM) Title:A Beam of Light: Media, Tourism and Economic Development ABSTRACT: We provide causal evidence on the impact of entertainment media on tourism inflow and, in turn, on expenditure. Our identification strategy is based on a difference-in-differences exploiting: a) the staggered release of an Italian TV-series, Inspector Montalbano, in different countries; b) the difference between municipalities where the series was staged compared to other municipalities in the same Italian region (Sicily). We leverage a rich dataset which we built by linking municipal-level data on tourism inflows and expenditure from a representative survey (Bank of Italy) as well as on tourism inflows from a travel review platform (Tripadvisor). We document a positive and significant impact on tourism inflow and tourism expenditure from origin countries after the TV-series release in treated municipalities compared to control municipalities. We also provide evidence of positive spillover effects in neighbouring municipalities You can join the  seminar through Google Hangout Meets at the following link:   JOIN WEBINAR_   @ucm accounts are granted immediate access to the webinar. External accounts require explicit approval by the moderators. You can find the recording of the talk  as well as previous sessions, papers, and the schedule of upcoming seminars at the seminar’s webpage Hope to see you all there. Best, Jimenez-Martin, Juan-Ángel  Rodríguez Álvarez, Carmelo  Rodríguez Hernández, Juan Gabriel