The demand for economic narratives


Blesse, Sebastian ; Greuendler, Klaus ; Heil, Philipp ; Hermes, Henning


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URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-714505
Document Type: Working paper
Year of publication: 2025
The title of a journal, publication series: ZEW Discussion Papers
Volume: 25-054
Place of publication: Mannheim
Publication language: English
Institution: Sonstige Einrichtungen > ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
MADOC publication series: Veröffentlichungen des ZEW (Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung) > ZEW Discussion Papers
Subject: 330 Economics
Classification: JEL: D83 , D84 , D12 , E32 , E71,
Keywords (English): narratives , experts , information acquisition , willingness to pay , expectation formation , belief formation , spending intentions , recession
Abstract: Economic narratives are pervasive in the public discourse and can shape individual behavior. But so far we know very little about whether households actually demand and value narratives as information. We combine a comprehensive expert survey with a large-scale nationally representative household sample in the U.S. to examine the demand for economic narratives in a high-stakes environment of an unprecedentedly high recession probability. We document a substantial willingness to pay for economic narratives of more than 4 USD, which is higher than for numerical forecast information. The dominant motives for acquiring narratives are intrinsic, but a smaller share of participants also lists instrumental motives. Economic narratives improve respondents’ understanding of recession drivers and shape beliefs about the economy and spending, but exert only a minor impact on quantitative expectations. Our findings underscore the potential of narratives as a tool to improve economic understanding and to foster more informed decisionmaking.




Das Dokument wird vom Publikationsserver der Universitätsbibliothek Mannheim bereitgestellt.




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