This week's Theory Seminar invites Professor Sara Ridout of Vanderbilt University to discuss her paper "Choosing for the Right Reasons". Prof. Ridout's research is in microeconomic theory, particularly decision theory and behavioural economics.

A link to the paper can be found here.

Zoom link available here

 

Abstract:

I propose a model of decision making when some preferences are acceptable to act on and others are
not. Through an axiomatic characterization, I demonstrate that the model has significantly stronger
identification properties than existing models with a similar scope of application, and admits
tractable extensions to between-subject data and information choice. The between-subject extension
is motivated by the concern, not addressed in existing work, that subjects with unacceptable
preferences may exhibit consistency motives in within-subject data. I propose a simple method for
determining, in between-subject data, whether there is a gap between what subjects prefer and what
they choose. I then extend the model to information choice and show that it can accommodate and
build on the findings from the large "moral wiggle room" literature.