Wintertime for Deceptive Advertising?
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 8,
no. 1, January 2016
(pp. 177-92)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Casual empiricism suggests that deceptive advertising about product quality is prevalent, and several classes of theories explore its causes and consequences. We provide unusually sharp empirical evidence on its extent, mechanics, and dynamics. Ski resorts self-report substantially more natural snowfall than comparable government sources. The difference is more pronounced on weekends, despite third-party evidence that snowfall is uniform throughout the week—as one would expect given plausibly greater returns to exaggeration on weekends. Exaggeration is greater for resorts that plausibly reap greater benefits from it: those with expert terrain and those not offering money back guarantees. (JEL D83, L15, L83, M37, Z31)Citation
Zinman, Jonathan, and Eric Zitzewitz. 2016. "Wintertime for Deceptive Advertising?" American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 8 (1): 177-92. DOI: 10.1257/app.20130346Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- L15 Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility
- L83 Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
- M37 Advertising
- Z31 Tourism: Industry Studies
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