Assuming the classic contingent claim setting, a number of …nancial asset demand tests of Expected Utility have been developed and implemented in experimental settings. However the domain of preferences of these asset demand tests di¤er from the mixture space of distributions assumed in the traditional binary lottery laboratory tests of von Neumann-Morgenstern Expected Utility preferences. We d...

A growing body of empirical literature shows that there is a negative relationship between a person’s educational achievements and her fertility decisions. Caution should be exercised before assuming that these results are due to the negative impact of education on the preference for child quantity. The relationship is much less straightforward. Becker[5], [6] and Becker and Lewis[7] convincing...

This paper studies the global variation in economic preferences. For this purpose, we present the Global Preference Survey (GPS), an experimentally validated survey dataset of time preference, risk preference, positive and negative reciprocity, altruism, and trust from 80,000 individuals in 76 countries. The data reveal substantial heterogeneity in preferences across countries, but even larger ...

Utilizing representative data on 80,000 individuals from 76 countries, this paper studies the world-wide distribution of risk preferences. While a population’s demographic composition as well as the health risks inherent in an environment predict country-level risk attitudes, a large fraction of the substantial between-country variation remains unexplained by traditional sociodemographic, econo...

This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. Recent turmoil in financial and commodities markets has renew...

A frame is any payo¤ relevant preference parameter broadly de...ned to include psychological considerations such as reference points, beliefs, aspirations etc. An endogenous frame is a preference parameter that is, in turn, a¤ected by chosen actions. We model decions in two ways. A standard decision problem is one where the chosen action is required to be optimal when the feedback e¤ect from ac...

There is a growing interest in cross-border medical care and its comparative advantages. In addition, medical care can be defined as a local assurance good. Little research is being carried out in this field. This paper discusses the individual considerations for medical treatment offered at home and abroad within a micro-economical framework. Specific assumptions as mistrust, monetary and non-...

Explorations of the Effect of Experience on Preferences: Two Health-Care Case Studies The standard assumption in economic theory is that preferences are stable. In particular, they are not changed as a result of experience with the good/service/event. Behavioral scientists have challenged this assumption and claimed (providing evidence) that preferences are constantly changing when experience i...

In decision theory, an agent chooses from a set of alternatives. When buying online, alternatives are “represented” in one form of another. For instance, online search results are lists of items, wine menus are often lists of lists (grouped by type or country), and online shopping often involves browsing or filtering items which can be viewed as navigating a tree. An agent can make use of the s...

We test the implications of ambiguity aversion in a principal-agent problem with multiple agents. When output distributions are uncertain, models of ambiguity aversion suggest that tournaments may become more attractive than independent wage contracts, in contrast to the case where output distributions are known. We do so by presenting agents with a choice between tournaments and independent co...