Giffen Behavior: Theory and Evidence

Giffen Behavior and Subsistence Consumption.

This paper provides the first real-world evidence of Giffen behavior, i.e., upward sloping demand. Subsidizing the prices of dietary staples for extremely poor households in two provinces of China, we find strong evidence of Giffen behavior for rice in Hunan, and weaker evidence for wheat in Gansu. The data provide new insight into the consumption behavior of the poor, who act as though maximiz...

Giffen Behavior and Subsistence Consumption Online Appendix

Traditionally, the possibility of Giffen behavior has been motivated by an argument similar to Marshall’s. We will argue that the need to maintain subsistence consumption is the critical factor leading to Giffen behavior, drawing connections between Marshall’s verbal argument, two mathematical models of the situation, and the graphical analysis found in microeconomics textbooks. Although much o...

Moonlighting Behavior Theory and Evidence

Table of Contents Giffen Behavior and Subsistence Consumption Zeckhauser and Two Anonymous Referees for Valuable Comments and Discussions, and I. Giffen Behavior and Consumption among the Poor

This paper provides the first real-world evidence of Giffen behavior, i.e., upward sloping demand. Subsidizing the prices of dietary staples for extremely poor households in two provinces of China, we find strong evidence of Giffen behavior for rice in Hunan, and weaker evidence for wheat in Gansu. The data provide new insight into the consumption behavior of the poor, who act as though maximiz...

Behavior Based Manipulation: Theory and Prosecution Evidence*

If investors are not fully rational, what can smart money do? This paper provides an example in which smart money can strategically take advantage of investors’ behavioral biases and manipulate the price process to make profit. The paper considers three types of traders, behavior-driven investors who are less willing to sell losers than to sell winners (dispositional effect), arbitrageurs, and ...