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The Economics of Obituaries

Author

Listed:
  • Raffaella Intinghero
  • Pietro Lazzaretto
  • Paolo Manasse

Abstract

Obituaries are traditionally seen as expressions of grief and remembrance. We argue that they also have an underappreciated economic role: they are vehicles for strategic social and economic signaling. In this paper, we develop a simple theoretical framework in which paid obituaries serve as a form of self-promotion for the authors, especially when the deceased is a prominent public figure. We then test this hypothesis using data from Italy, exploiting the variation in mortality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment. We show that higher mortality rates are associated with increases in per-capita obituaries, driven not by informational needs but by strategic advertising motives. Our results suggest that obituaries function as a marketplace for visibility and status, where social and economic incentives intersect.

Suggested Citation

  • Raffaella Intinghero & Pietro Lazzaretto & Paolo Manasse, 2025. "The Economics of Obituaries," Working Papers wp1209, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    • Handle: RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1209
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A10 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - General
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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