Although truthful advertising plays a vital role in a competitive economy, some states have pursued policies that effectively eliminate advertising of value to consumers, according to this volume. Health claims about diet and disease that reflect federal government reports cannot be advertised in some states, and environmental claims that are allowable in some states are forbidden in others.

State regulators have tried to identify the "ideal" choices that consumers should make and then prohibt claims about other options, the authors say. But because national campaigns become prohibitively expensive if different advertisements must be placed in different states, regulatory decisions made in one place can control the information given to consumers everywhere. Inevitably, the most restrictive standard prevails, and competition and consumer choices are narrowed.

J. Howard Beales is associate professor of strategic management and public policy in the School of Business and Public Management at George Washington University. Timothy J. Muris is Foundation Professor in the School of Law at George Mason University.