Behavioral Economics Commons^™

Intricacies Of Agency: Rational Choice, Behavioral Economics, And Our Normative Commitments, Max Hendrix

Fenwick Scholar Program

This project undertakes a philosophical analysis of the intricacies of agency found in rational choice theory - the mainstream economic theory that agents are fundamentally rational and utilize their rationality to identify and pursue their self-interest. Recent experimental evidence within and outside of economics has cast doubt on the psychological accuracy and predictive prowess of the theory, laying the foundation to discuss the strengths and limitations of the theory as well as the impacts that this paradigm of agency has on our society today. I argue that rational choice theory struggles as a holistic conception of agency both from an …

Three Essays On Learning And Conflict Applied To Developing Countries, Amal Ahmad

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses microeconomics to study questions of learning and conflict in developing countries. The first essay studies how much rural producers in developing countries can learn from their own experience to redress important information gaps about their crop. It builds a theoretical model of learning from experience and applies it using a rich dataset on cotton farmers in Pakistan. I test whether farmers learn from cultivation experience about the pest resistance of their seeds and use this information to improve selection and productivity. I find no such learning effect and this conclusion is robust to several parameters that could …

Local Food Policy & Consumer Food Cooperatives: Evolutionary Case Studies, Afton Hupper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Darwin’s theory of natural selection has played a central role in the development of the biological sciences, but evolution can also explain change in human culture. Institutions, mechanisms that govern behavior and social order, are important subjects of cultural evolution. Institutions can help stabilize cooperation, defined as behavior that benefits others, often at a personal cost. Cooperation is important for solving social dilemmas, scenarios in which the interests of the individual conflict with those of the group. A number of mechanisms by which institutions evolve to support cooperation have been identified, yet theoretical models of institutional change have rarely been …

Counterfactual Conditional Analysis Using The Centipede Game, Ahmed Bilal

CMC Senior Theses

The Backward Induction strategy for the Centipede Game leads us to a counterfactual reasoning paradox, The Centipede Game paradox. The counterfactual reasoning proving the backward induction strategy for the game appears to rely on the players in the game not choosing that very same backward induction strategy. The paradox is a general paradox that applies to backward induction reasoning in sequential, perfect information games. Therefore, the paradox is not only problematic for the Centipede Game, but it also affects counterfactual reasoning solutions in games similar to the Centipede Game. The Centipede Game is a prime illustration of this paradox in …

Cooperation And Reciprocity In Anonymous Interactions: Other-Regarding Preferences And Quasi-Magical Thinking, Gregory Klevans

Theses and Dissertations

In economic experiments, players often demonstrate concerns for the relative payoffs between themselves and other subjects, in addition to their own payoffs. In addition, they appear to do their parts to achieve efficient outcomes, particularly when they are ignorant of the opponent's decision. I present a parsimonious model of other-regarding preferences and quasi-magical thinking that explains such behavior, and I apply it to four games: the prisoner's dilemma, the traveler's dilemma, the ultimatum game, and the trust game.

Rationality Vs Reality: The Dissonance Between Economic Models And Experimental Data, Piotr Broda

College Honors Program

Rationality was not embedded in economic theory from its onset. In fact, the discipline started with a more holistic approach to human nature, incorporating notions of empathy and altruism. It was not until economics progressed and became more concerned with mathematical models and abstract theories that rationality entered the fray. Game theory, developed in the 1940s, established several axioms about human behavior that presented people as perfectly rational economic agents. It was not until behavioral researchers started investigating the question of rationality that the economic worldview was critically challenged. This research was the driving force in the development of behavioral …

Sperner's Lemma, The Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem, The Kakutani Fixed Point Theorem, And Their Applications In Social Sciences, Ayesha Maliwal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Can a cake be divided amongst people in such a manner that each individual is content with their share? In a game, is there a combination of strategies where no player is motivated to change their approach? Is there a price where the demand for goods is entirely met by the supply in the economy and there is no tendency for anything to change? In this paper, we will prove the existence of envy-free cake divisions, equilibrium game strategies and equilibrium prices in the economy, as well as discuss what brings them together under one heading.

This paper examines three …

Some Professionals Play Minimax: A Reexamination Of The Minimax Theory In Major League Baseball, Jeffrey Park

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the behavior of Major League Baseball pitchers. We analyze the pitching data from 2007-2010 in order to determine whether their actions follow minimax play. We also examine what the OPS statistic tells us about a pitcher's value.