We prove that a universal preference type space exists under much more general conditions than those postulated by Epstein and Wang (1996). To wit, it is enough that preferences can be encoded by a countable collection of continuous functionals, while the preferences themselves need not necessarily be continuous or regular, like, e.g., in the case of lexicographic preferences. The proof relies ...

In this paper we investigate the value of perfect flexibility. Perfect flexibility is defined as the increase in profit that can be obtained by responding instantly to changes in market preferences, compared to a “robust” policy of offering only a single product mix over time. We assume that the market evolves over time throughm states or scenarios, defined by the preferences of the market. In ...

Changes in monetary policy are typically implemented gradually, an empirical observation known as interest-rate smoothing. We propose the explanation that timenon-separable preferences may render interest-rate smoothing optimal. We find that when consumers have “catching-up-with-the-Joneses” preferences, optimal monetary policy reacts gradually to shocks to prevent inefficiently fast adjustment...

The finding that the preferences of middle-income Americans are ignored when they diverge from the preferences of the rich is one of the most widely accepted and influential conclusions in political science research today. I offer a cautionary note regarding this conclusion. I demonstrate that even on those issues for which the preferences of the wealthy and those in the middle diverge, policy ...

The upgrading of the European Commission and the European Parliament’s role in the EU policy-process from 1999 might have been expected to herald a shift away from the previous securityand control-orientation of asylum policy. No such shift occurred. This paper traces the continuity in EU asylum policy’s trajectory to the continuity in its ‘policy-image’: actors seeking to fashion institutional...

The paper analyses recurring group decision making problems under uncertainty regarding future preferences of the actors involved, problems faced by many real world committees. The need for continuity in policy making implies that past decisions play an important role in determining subsequent ones, creating dynamic procedural linkages. In this context we compare two bargaining protocols: i) th...

Drawing on research areas such as estimation, innumeracy, attitude, scientific conceptual change, social cognition, and judgment and decision making, we offer results from a paradigm we call Numerically-Driven Inferencing (Ranney, Cheng, Nelson, & Garcia de Osuna, 2001). NDI includes observing the effects of presenting critical, germane, and credible base rates that are relevant to social polic...