The Political Economy of "Truth-in-Advertising" Regulation During the Progressive Era

Abstract

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.

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