2.24 MB, PDF document
Research output: Working paper
Research output: Working paper
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TY - UNPB
T1 - States of Nature and States of Mind: A Generalised Theory of Decision-Making, evaluated by application to Human Capital Development
AU - Embrey, Iain
PY - 2017/12
Y1 - 2017/12
N2 - Canonical economic agents act so as to maximise a single, representative, utility function. However there is accumulating evidence that heterogeneity in thought-processes may be an important determinant of individual behaviour. This paper investigates the implications of a vector-valued generalisation of the Expected Utility paradigm, which permits agents either to deliberate as per Homo-economics, or to act impulsively. That generalised decision theory is applied to explain irrational educational investment decisions, persistent social inequalities, the crowding-out effect, the pervasive influence of non-cognitive ability on socio-economic outcomes, and the dynamic relationships between non-cognitive ability, cognitive ability, and behavioural biases. These results suggest that the generalised decision theory warrants further investigation.
AB - Canonical economic agents act so as to maximise a single, representative, utility function. However there is accumulating evidence that heterogeneity in thought-processes may be an important determinant of individual behaviour. This paper investigates the implications of a vector-valued generalisation of the Expected Utility paradigm, which permits agents either to deliberate as per Homo-economics, or to act impulsively. That generalised decision theory is applied to explain irrational educational investment decisions, persistent social inequalities, the crowding-out effect, the pervasive influence of non-cognitive ability on socio-economic outcomes, and the dynamic relationships between non-cognitive ability, cognitive ability, and behavioural biases. These results suggest that the generalised decision theory warrants further investigation.
KW - Decision Theory
KW - Dual-Self
KW - Behavioural Anomalies
KW - Human Capital
KW - Social Exclusion
KW - Unemployment
M3 - Working paper
T3 - Economics Working Papers Series
BT - States of Nature and States of Mind: A Generalised Theory of Decision-Making, evaluated by application to Human Capital Development
PB - Lancaster University, Department of Economics
CY - Lancaster
ER -