A recent study titled “Social media advertising and macroeconomic expectations: Evidence from Meta,” co-authored by Cody Couture, Assistant Professor of Economics, and Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Chair of Public Policy and Professor of Economics, has been published in Economics Letters. The research investigates how digital advertising on social platforms shapes users’ views about the economy. n nThe analysis reveals that targeted advertising leads to unequal exposure across demographic groups. For instance, individuals over a certain age are more likely to see content focused on inflation, while residents of states with Democratic leanings encounter a higher volume of pessimistic economic messaging. n nOne of the key findings is that these advertisements influence public expectations about economic conditions, with the most pronounced effect observed among women between the ages of 35 and 44. This suggests that digital ad targeting may play a role in shaping economic sentiment in specific segments of the population. n nThe authors caution that the shift from traditional broadcast media to personalized online advertising could deepen disparities in how economic information is received and interpreted. They also emphasize that their findings are limited to Meta’s platforms and may not reflect dynamics on other social networks, where user demographics and ad delivery systems differ. n
— news from Hamilton College
— News Original —
Couture, Owen Study Social Media Ads and Economic Expectations
“Social media advertising and macroeconomic expectations: Evidence from Meta,” co-authored by Assistant Professor of Economics Cody Couture and Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Chair of Public Policy and Professor of Economics, was recently published in the journal Economics Letters. n nCouture and Owen examined the relationship between social media advertising that addresses economic issues finding that social media targeting results in people in different demographic groups receiving different amounts of exposure to these economic ads. “For example, ads targeted at older adults are disproportionately about inflation and those that live in Democratic states received more negative ads about economic issues,” they said. n nThey also found that social media ads have an impact on expectations about the economy, but that impact is primarily driven by women in the 35 to 44 age group. n n”Taken together, these results imply that the transition from television advertising to digital advertising, and the broader transition away from mass media, could cause further divergence in how individuals receive information and perceive the macroeconomy.” n nThe co-authors noted that their results are based solely on Meta ads and that the “effects [of ads] on other social media platforms may differ based on the platform’s user base or implementation of advertisements.”