scholarly journals In defence of revealed preference theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Thoma
Keyword(s):  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
The Core ◽  
Revealed Preference Theory

Abstract This paper defends revealed preference theory against a pervasive line of criticism, according to which revealed preference methodology relies on appealing to some mental states, in particular an agent’s beliefs, rendering the project incoherent or unmotivated. I argue that all that is established by these arguments is that revealed preference theorists must accept a limited mentalism in their account of the options an agent should be modelled as choosing between. This is consistent both with an essentially behavioural interpretation of preference and with standard revealed preference methodology. And it does not undermine the core motivations of revealed preference theory.

scholarly journals MENTALISM VERSUS BEHAVIOURISM IN ECONOMICS: A PHILOSOPHY-OF-SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Dietrich ◽  
Christian List
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Electromagnetic Fields ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
Positive Science ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Revealed Preference Theory

Abstract:Behaviourism is the view that preferences, beliefs and other mental states in social-scientific theories are nothing but constructs re-describing people’s behaviour. Mentalism is the view that they capture real phenomena, on a par with the unobservables in science, such as electrons and electromagnetic fields. While behaviourism has gone out of fashion in psychology, it remains influential in economics, especially in ‘revealed preference’ theory. We defend mentalism in economics, construed as a positive science, and show that it fits best scientific practice. We distinguish mentalism from, and reject, the radical neuroeconomic view that behaviour should be explained in terms of brain processes, as distinct from mental states.

Revealed preference, belief, and game theory

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Hausman
Keyword(s):  
Game Theory ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
Revealed Preference Theory ◽  
Subjective States

The notion of ‘revealed preference’ is unclear and should be abandoned. Defenders of the theory of revealed preference have misinterpreted legitimate concerns about the testability of economics as the demand that economists eschew reference to (unobservable) subjective states. As attempts to apply revealed-preference theory to game theory illustrate with particular vividness, this demand is mistaken.

scholarly journals Understanding Attitudes towards Proenvironmental Travel: An Empirical Study from Tangshan City in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Fang ◽  
Yajing Xu ◽  
Weiya Chen
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Mode Choice ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Travel Mode ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
Travel Mode Choice ◽  
Revealed Preference Theory

Understanding people’s attitudes towards proenvironmental travel will help to encourage people to adopt proenvironmental travel behavior. Revealed preference theory assumes that the consumption preference of consumers can be revealed by their consumption behavior. In order to investigate the influences on citizens’ travel decision and analyze the difficulties of promoting proenvironmental travel behavior in medium-sized cities in China, based on revealed preference theory, this paper uses the RP survey method and disaggregate model to analyze how individual characteristics, situational factors, and trip features influence the travel mode choice. The field investigation was conducted in Tangshan City to obtain the RP data. An MNL model was built to deal with the travel mode choice. SPSS software was used to calibrate the model parameters. The goodness-of-fit tests and the predicted outcome demonstrate the validation of the parameter setting. The results show that gender, occupation, trip purpose, and distance have an obvious influence on the travel mode choice. In particular, the male gender, high income, and business travel show a high correlation with carbon-intensive travel, while the female gender and a medium income scored higher in terms of proenvironmental travel modes, such as walking, cycling, and public transport.

scholarly journals New Developments in Revealed Preference Theory: Decisions Under Risk, Uncertainty, and Intertemporal Choice

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Echenique
Keyword(s):  
Expected Utility ◽  
Intertemporal Choice ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Preference Theory ◽  
Decisions Under Risk ◽  
Discounted Utility ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Functional Forms ◽  
Revealed Preference Theory

This article reviews recent developments in revealed preference theory. It discusses the testable implications of theories of choice that are germane to specific economic environments. The focus is on expected utility in risky environments, subjected expected utility and maxmin expected utility in the presence of uncertainty, and exponentially discounted utility for intertemporal choice. The testable implications of these theories for data on choice from classical linear budget sets are described and shown to follow a common thread. The theories all imply an inverse relation between prices and quantities, with different qualifications depending on the functional forms in the theory under consideration.

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