Can we fight drugs using communication campaigns? A framed field experiment

Marcela Ibanez and Juanita Vasquez
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Marcela Ibanez: Georg-August University Göttingen
Juanita Vasquez: University of Göttingen

No 199, Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers from Courant Research Centre PEG

Abstract: This paper uses a framed field experiment to test the effect of persuasive communication as a strategy in the fight against drugs in Colombia. Our design varies the salience and the degree of informativeness of the messages that participants receive, while highlighting particular negative effects of growing coca in the community. We find that messages that make the relation of coca cultivation with violence salient are the most effective at reducing coca investments. Our results suggest that the main mechanism at play is attitudinal change rather than a change in beliefs. Interestingly, we find that exposure to persuasive messages translates into lower intentions to cultivate coca in the future. We conclude that interventions that aim at increasing “awareness” of the negative effects that coca has in the community are a promising policy instrument in the fight against drugs.

Keywords: Field experiment; attitudinal change; communication campaigns; illegal behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 D03 D83 G11 K42 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-02-28
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-lam and nep-law
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:got:gotcrc:199

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