NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH
NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

The Political Economy of "Truth-in-Advertising" Regulation During the Progressive Era

Zeynep Hansen, Marc T. Law

NBER Working Paper No. 11927*
Issued in January 2006
NBER Program(s):   DAE    POL

This paper explores the origins and impact of "truth-in-advertising" regulation during the Progressive era. Was advertising regulation adopted in response to rent-seeking on the part of firms who sought to limit the availability of advertising as a competitive device? Or was advertising regulation desired because it furnished a mechanism through which firms could improve the credibility of advertising? We find the available qualitative and quantitative evidence to be more consistent with the latter hypothesis.

*Published: Hansen, Zeynep K. and Marc T. Law. “The Political Economy of Truth-in-Advertising Regulation during the Progressive Era.” Journal of Law and Economics 51, 2 (May 2008): 251-69.

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This paper was revised on July 21, 2006

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