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Behavioral Economics Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Economics

Development Of Utility Theory And Utility Paradoxes, Timothy E. Dahlstrom Jun 2016

Development Of Utility Theory And Utility Paradoxes, Timothy E. Dahlstrom

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Since the pioneering work of von Neumann and Morgenstern in 1944 there have been many developments in Expected Utility theory. In order to explain decision making behavior economists have created increasingly broad and complex models of utility theory. This paper seeks to describe various utility models, how they model choices among ambiguous and lottery type situations, and how they respond to the Ellsberg and Allais paradoxes. This paper also attempts to communicate the historical development of utility models and provide a fresh perspective on the development of utility models.


Causes And Consequences Of Risk Aversion In Middle Adulthood, Nataliya Rubinchik May 2016

Causes And Consequences Of Risk Aversion In Middle Adulthood, Nataliya Rubinchik

Theses and Dissertations

I analyze how risk aversion may affect decision-making over time, what effects risk aversion may have on decisions, and whether one’s level of risk aversion varies over time. I find that risk preferences correlate with certain maternal factors, income, depression, and ethnicity. Risk aversion correlates with financial and health decisions.


Can Nba Teams Benefit From Losing?, Ryan P. Hallisey Apr 2016

Can Nba Teams Benefit From Losing?, Ryan P. Hallisey

Honors Scholar Theses

It has been speculated that franchises in the NBA (national basketball association) lose on purpose because of the benefits that coincide with a team having a poor overall record. Teams that perform the worst are given the highest draft selections in the following season's rookie player draft, thus theoretically improving their chances of becoming a more winning team. Previous economists have used various methodology to prove that NBA teams do in fact lose on purpose; or tank. This paper builds upon this previous methodology to examine the direct impact, negative or positive, that losing on purpose has had on various …


How Do People Update Beliefs About Themselves Under Risk, Zhongyi Tang Apr 2016

How Do People Update Beliefs About Themselves Under Risk, Zhongyi Tang

Senior Theses and Projects

This paper aims to understand whether people follow Bayes’ Rule to update beliefs about important attributes they do not know much about. If they fail to Bayesian update their beliefs, the paper investigates how the external environment, good news versus bad news, risk levels, and the imperfect memory factor contribute to the departure from Bayes Rule. An experimental approach is used to recreate a simplified entrepreneurship scenario in the laboratory environment which was implemented through oTree. 249 participants were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Findings in this paper suggest that people with Low ability have tendency toward overconfidence which persists …


Three Rationalities: An Exploration Of Three Views On Rationality In Economics, Martin Smith Sanders Iv Jan 2016

Three Rationalities: An Exploration Of Three Views On Rationality In Economics, Martin Smith Sanders Iv

Honors Program Theses

This paper conducts an exploration of three rationalities within economic thought: core, bounded, and ecological. Assumptions, policies and other key underpinnings of the rationalities are discussed and compared. Concluding remarks summarize the key points of each rationality and briefly discuss avenues for future research.


The Big Economic Development Project Question: Is It New Revenue Or A Spending Transfer?, Paul Harris, Ronald Berkebile, Julia Martin, Larry Filer Jan 2016

The Big Economic Development Project Question: Is It New Revenue Or A Spending Transfer?, Paul Harris, Ronald Berkebile, Julia Martin, Larry Filer

Economics Faculty Publications

Most local governments pursue some degree of economic development activity to strengthen their economy by adding jobs and generating tax revenue. Witness the growth in tax increment financing, property tax abatements, tax credits, and exemptions for economic development. These state and local incentives totaled more than $80 billion in 2012. Economic development projects can represent a significant boon for a local economy. Estimating how much money they might generate, however, is not as easy as it initially seems, and jurisdictions can receive far less net new revenue than developers predict. Most consumers have finite incomes, which limits their discretionary spending. …