Alesina's Public Reception in Media (1988–2020): Gale Files (Magazines and News)

To examine Alberto Alesina (1957-2020)’s contributions to public debate and the reception of his ideas, I compiled two excel files based on data extracted from Gale’s database. These files systematically track the presence of Alesina’s work in international magazines and newspapers from 1988 to May 2020.

1. Gale Magazines FileThis dataset aggregates 309 entries, only one of which is authored by Alesina. The data were collected non-selectively from the Magazines section of the Gale Academic OneFile database. It includes articles from prominent international magazines such as The Economist, Reason, Spectator, National Review, Foreign Policy, The Weekly Standard, and institutional reports from organizations like the IMF, OECD, ECB, FED, and national central banks.

2. Gale Newspapers FileThis dataset contains 218 entries, eight of which are authored by Alesina. The data were collected non-selectively from the News section of the Gale Academic OneFile database. It features articles from major international newspapers, including The Times, The New York Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Washington Post, The Globe & Mail, The Australian, El Tiempo, and others.

Dataset Curation and EnrichmentBoth datasets were carefully curated to remove duplicates and selection errors. They provide metadata on:

- Author (if applicable)- Publication (name of the newspaper/magazine)- Date (publication date)- Title (article headline)- Citations of Alesina’s academic works

To facilitate deeper analysis, the datasets were enriched with:

- An indication of whether the article supports Alesina’s theories- The placement of citations (in footnotes or the main text)- Up to five keywords per entry, selected from a predefined set of 50 terms, to enable statistical analysis and minimize subjective bias.

This is the legend for the keywords:

1. Banks/Financial Markets/Credit2. Bubbles/Speculation/Leverages3. Budget Cuts/Austerity4. Central Bank/Interest Rates5. Competition/Free Trade/Market Size6. Consumption/Demand/Spending7. Corruption/Personal Interest/Tax Evasion8. Culture/Work Ethic/Values/Family9. Debt/Deficit10. Democracy/Civil Rights/Western Rule of Law11. Diversity/Fragmentation/Segregation12. Education/Formation/Human capital13. Fiscal Policy14. Gender/Women15. Government/Parliament/Institutions16. Growth/Business Cycles/Productivity17. Ideology (Liberalism, Communism, Keynesism, Fascism)18. Immigration/Ethnicity/Race/Discrimination19. Inequality/Poverty/Distribution/Social Mobility20. Inflation/Deflation21. Innovation/Technology/R&D22. Instability/Distress/Crisis23. Investments/Risk/Entrepreneurship24. Labour Policies/Labour Market Participation25. Rest/Leisure/Social Protection26. Form, Size and Constitution of States27. Monetary Policy28. Monetary/Fiscal/Political Unions29. Pensions/Aging/Old generations30. Planning/Coordination/Centralisation31. Politics (Elections, alternation, instability)32. Power Relations (Classes, States)33. Precarity/Flexibility/Mobility34. Private Savings/Private Debt35. Privatization/Deregulation/Liberalisation36. Public Sector/Public Economics/ Public Investments37. Braveness/Individualism/Merit38. Welfare/Social Spending39. Solidarity/Community/Integration/Inclusivity40. Globalization/Western hegemony41. Supranational Institutions42. Technocracy/Structural Reforms43. Trade Unions/Social and Political Conflict44. Trust/Credibility/Transaction costs/Transparency45. Underdevelopment//FDI/Geopolitical Strategies46. Unemployment/Social Distress47. Wages//Exploitation48. War/Defence/Protectionism49. Young/Future Generations50. Tax breaks/Subsidies/Stimuli

These datasets provide a unique resource for understanding the evolution of Alesina’s public reception and the dissemination of neoliberal economic ideas across media over three decades.