Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/71650 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7247
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper is the first to estimate the impact of exposure to deceptive advertising on consumption of the advertised product and its substitutes. We study the market for over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss products, a market in which deceptive advertising is rampant and products are generally ineffective with potentially serious side effects. We control for the targeting of ads using indicator variables for each unique magazine read and television show watched. Our estimates indicate that exposure to deceptive advertising is associated with a lower probability that women, and a higher probability that men, consume OTC weight loss products. We find evidence of spillovers; exposure to deceptive print ads is associated with a higher probability of dieting and exercising for both men and women. We also find evidence that better-educated individuals are more sophisticated consumers of advertising and use it to make more health-promoting decisions.
Subjects: 
advertising
weight loss
obesity
deception
information
drugs
health
JEL: 
I1
I18
M37
M38
D83
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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