BackCheap talk on crime
People in authority need to remain quiet if they can't say sensible things
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Consider two very different statements. One: even if god comes to earth, he cannot stop rapes. Two: inflation will continue to rise for some time.
Spot anything common between them?
Economists call such statements cheap talk: communication that does not directly affect payoffs to participants in any game but serve as signals that ultimately change the structure of a game.
Issued by responsible persons at different times—one by a governor of a law and order deficit state and the other by a minister in the previous government—both are good examples of cheap talk. It is not that rapes will rise with such statements, but they do erode the fear of the law among potential criminals. And that certainly fuels crime. As for inflation, that fight is still on even if the minister has gone.
Moral of the story: people in authority need to remain quiet if they can’t say sensible things.
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