Random intertemporal choice

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lu, Jay; Saito, Kota
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; California Institute of Technology
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0531
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2018.08.005
• 发表日期: 2018
• 页码: 780-815
• 关键词: Stochastic choice; intertemporal choice; discounting; stationarity

摘要

We provide a theory of random intertemporal choice. Agents exhibit stochastic choice over consumption due to preference shocks to discounting attitudes. We first demonstrate how the distribution of these preference shocks can be uniquely identified from random choice data. We then provide axiomatic characterizations of some common random discounting models, including exponential and quasi-hyperbolic discounting. In particular, we show how testing for exponential discounting under stochastic choice involves checking for both a stochastic version of stationarity and a novel axiom characterizing decreasing impatience. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.