Is there any measure of how advertising affects this?<p>For example, there are many in the US who are poor, but who often do not allocate the money in ways that serve their best interests, but this may largely be the result of advertisers manipulating what people think is in their best interest.  But for the world&#x27;s poorest, they don&#x27;t have enough to be worth the investment to inundate with advertisements, so they may have better ability to decide what is in their own best interests.