16:00 - 17:30
Thu-PS3
Chair/s:
Simone Quercia
Room: Floor 2, Auditorium CGD
ISABEL BUSOM - Images say more than just words: Effectiveness of visual and text communication in dispelling the rent–control misconception
Jordi Brandts - Opposing views on public ownership and their influence on citizens’ attitudes
Matthew DiGiuseppe - Morality, Public Debt Reduction and Austerity
Simone Quercia - Understanding Opposition to Immigration: News Media and Emotions
Images say more than just words: Effectiveness of visual and text communication in dispelling the rent–control misconception
ISABEL BUSOM 1, JORDI BRANDTS 2, 4, CRISTINA LOPEZ-MAYAN 3, JUDITH PANADES 1, 4
1 UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA, SPAIN
2 Instituto de Analisis Economico, CSIC
3 Universitat de Barcelona
4 Barcelona School of Economics
The popular belief that rent--control leads to an increase in the amount of affordable housing is in contradiction with ample empirical evidence and congruent theoretical explanations. It can therefore be qualified as a misconception. We present the results of a preregistered on--line experiment in which we study how to dispel this misconception using a refutational approach in two different formats, a video and a text. Communication in a video format comes closer to how citizens are typically exposed to information. We find that the refutational video has a significantly higher positive impact on revising the misconception than a refutational text, an effect that is driven by the departure from the misconception by individuals who initially agreed with it. The refutational text, in turn, does not have a significant impact relative to a non--refutational baseline text. Higher cognitive reflective ability is positively associated with revising beliefs in all interventions. Our research shows that visual communication effectively reduces the gap between scientific economic knowledge and the views of citizens.