TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hansen,Zeynep
AU  - Law,Marc T.
TI  - The Political Economy of "Truth-in-Advertising" Regulation During the Progressive Era
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11927
PY  - 2006
Y2  - January 2006
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11927
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11927.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Zeynep K. Hansen
College of Business and Economics
Department of Economics
Boise State University
1910 University Drive
Boise, ID 83725-1620
Tel: 208/426-3314
Fax: 208/426-2071
E-Mail: zeynephansen@boisestate.edu

Marc Law
Department of Economics
University of Vermont
94 University Place
Burlington, VT  05405-0114
E-Mail: Marc.Law@uvm.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -