A new model of persuasion is presented. A listener first announces and commits to a codex (i.e., a set of conditions). The speaker then presents a (not necessarily true) profile that must satisfy the codex in order for the listener to be persuaded. The speaker is boundedly rational in the sense...

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a proprietary sample of semiskilled production workers, this paper investigates the reasons for the discontinuous increase in wages associated with graduation from high school. The author finds a discontinuous decrease in workers'...