Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
This paper explores the origins and effects of truth-in-advertising regulation during the Progressive Era. Was advertising regulation adopted in response to rent seeking on the part of firms that 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 evidence to be more consistent with the latter hypothesis. (c) 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.