International economic policy: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis on think tanks in the press

This study examines the conditions that explain leading think tanks’ successful strategies for the growth of world media representation of the European Union’s (EU) international economic policy (N = 19). A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was developed throughout 2009–2018, which begins with the euro crisis. The causal conditions used are: the years of experience of each think tank; the attributes of its media representation (number of languages in which they spread their messages in the media, thematic concentration, and media concentration); and the macroeconomic characteristics of the countries from which they carry out their main activity (competitiveness and belonging to the euro). This data has been obtained through Factiva® (Dow Jones & Company©), the Global Competitiveness Index (World Economic Forum), and the European Central Bank. The core conditions analysis shows the importance of the think tank experience and the diversity of languages for their successful strategies. Likewise, the different pathways suggest that the thematic concentration and membership of the euro are sufficient conditions to explain the increased influence of the EU think tanks on the international public agenda