TY  - JOUR
AU  - DellaVigna,Stefano
AU  - Gentzkow,Matthew
TI  - Persuasion: Empirical Evidence
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15298
PY  - 2009
Y2  - August 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15298
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15298.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Stefano DellaVigna
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Economics
549 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
Tel: 510/643-0715
Fax: 510/642-6615
E-Mail: sdellavi@econ.berkeley.edu

Matthew Gentzkow
University of Chicago
Booth School of Business
5807 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/834-2177
Fax: 773/702-0458
E-Mail: gentzkow@chicagobooth.edu
AB  - We provide a selective survey of empirical evidence on the effects as well as the drivers of persuasive communication. We consider persuasion directed at consumers, voters, donors, and investors. We organize our review around four questions. First, to what extent does persuasion affect the behavior of each of these groups? Second, what models best capture the response to persuasive communication? In particular, we distinguish information-based models from preference-based models. Third, what are persuaders' incentives and what limits their ability to distort communications? Finally, what evidence exists on the equilibrium outcomes of persuasion in economics and politics?
ER  -