By combining a theory of herding behavior with the phenomenon of availability heuristic, this paper shows that non-informative advertisements can affect people’s choices by influencing their perception of product quality. We present a model in which people can learn about product quality by...

This paper studies whether exposure to mass media and liking advertising are associated with an increased impulse buy tendency, and whether the availability of a credit card acts as a facilitating stimulus. It is found that impulse buys are positively associated with exposure to commercial...

It is a fact of life that economic resources are used to alter other's preferences over commodities. Yet this is seldom taken into account in basic economic theory, explanatory or normative. It is shown here how a certain type of advertising is readily allowed for in the Edgeworth exchange box,...