Suppose that some behavior is affected by information provided by official
sources. Suppose further that by distorting or withholding information
the official may change behavior in a socially desirable manner (ignore
credibility issues). Should the official engage in such manipulations?
To take a concrete example, suppose for the sake of argument that smokers
impose significant negative externalities on non-smokers. Should public
health officials deliberately over-emphasize the dangers of smoking? This
is in an interesting example in that it appears to be exactly what has
happened (see Viscusi JPE 1990).
Does anyone know of any literature on this or similar topics? (I actually
need to know to satisfy a referee, but can't find anything, so this is
not entirely an armchair musing.)
Cheers,
Chris Auld
Department of Economics
University of Calgary
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
