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Wintertime for Deceptive Advertising?

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Zinman
  • Eric Zitzewitz

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)

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Zinman & Eric Zitzewitz, 2016. "Wintertime for Deceptive Advertising?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 177-192, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:177-92
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20130346
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    Cited by:

    1. Sandrini, Luca & Somogyi, Robert, 2023. "Generative AI and deceptive news consumption," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    2. Goeschl, Timo, 2019. "Cold Case: The forensic economics of energy efficiency labels for domestic refrigeration appliances," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    3. Hinnosaar, Marit & Hinnosaar, Toomas, 2024. "Influencer Cartels," CEPR Discussion Papers 19079, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Brandyn F. Churchill & Laura E. Henkhaus & Emily C. Lawler, 2025. "Effect of vaccine recommendations on consumer and firm behavior," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(1), pages 125-150, January.
    5. Yue Wu & Tansev Geylani, 2020. "Regulating Deceptive Advertising: False Claims and Skeptical Consumers," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 788-806, July.
    6. Andrew Rhodes & Chris M. Wilson, 2018. "False advertising," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 49(2), pages 348-369, June.
    7. Andrea Mangani & Barbara Pacini, 2025. "The Impact of Fines on Deceptive Advertising: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 23-50, March.
    8. Chen Jin & Luyi Yang & Kartik Hosanagar, 2023. "To Brush or Not to Brush: Product Rankings, Consumer Search, and Fake Orders," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(2), pages 532-552, June.
    9. Renatas Kizys & Wael Rouatbi & Zaghum Umar & Adam Zaremba, 2024. "Air temperature and sovereign bond returns," Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(2), pages 179-209, May.
    10. Ho Fai Chan & Bruno S. Frey & Ahmed Skali & Benno Torgler, 2019. "Political entrenchment and GDP misreporting," CESifo Working Paper Series 7653, CESifo.
    11. Raymond, Collin & Taylor, Sarah, 2021. "“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant”: Documenting media bias," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 670-691.
    12. Grunewald, Andreas & Kräkel, Matthias, 2022. "Information manipulation and competition," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 245-263.
    13. Ahlin, Christian & Kim, In Kyung & Kim, Kyoo il, 2021. "Who commits fraud? evidence from korean gas stations," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    14. Rhodes, Andrew, 2023. "A Survey on Drip Pricing and Other False Advertising," TSE Working Papers 23-1434, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    15. Umit G. Gurun & Gregor Matvos & Amit Seru, 2016. "Advertising Expensive Mortgages," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(5), pages 2371-2416, October.
    16. Zhang, Xiaoheng & Yu, Xiaohua & You, Liangzhi, 2020. "Does the Granary County Subsidy Program Lead to manipulation of grain production data in China?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    17. Daniel W. Elfenbein & Raymond Fisman & Brian McManus, 2019. "Does Cheap Talk Affect Market Outcomes? Evidence from eBay," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 305-326, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • M37 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Advertising
    • Z31 - Other Special Topics - - Tourism Economics - - - Industry Studies

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