Do Voice and Social Information Contribute to Changing Views about Rent Control Policy?

• Authors: Jordi Brandts.
• BSE Working Paper: 112320 | February 24
• Keywords: communication , social information , misconceptions , policy beliefs , refutation , online experiments
• JEL codes: A1, A2, C9, D83, D9
• communication
• social information
• misconceptions
• policy beliefs
• refutation
• online experiments

Abstract Citizens’ ability to make informed and thoughtful choices when voting for policy proposals rests on their exposure to accurate information about the costs and benefits that each proposal entails. We study whether certain social factors affect the disposition to drop a misconception, the belief that rent control increases the availability of affordable housing. We design an on– line experiment where all participants watch a video explaining the scientific evidence on the consequences of this policy. We test whether letting them give feedback (giving voice) and informing them about others’ change of beliefs (social information) helps in reducing the misconception. Giving voice does not have an additional effect relative to a benchmark group that only watches the video. Social information further reduces the misconception when it specifies how different groups of people have responded to the video, but not when these distinctions are not made. Additionally, changes in beliefs translate into intended voting against the policy, and into recommending the video. Finally, ideological position and a zero– sum mentality are correlated with the initial misconception, but these two factors do not hinder the disposition to dropping it following the intervention.