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on Utility Models and Prospect Theory |
| By: | Van-Quy Nguyen (Faculty of Mathematical Economics, National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam); Jean-Marc Bonnisseau (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris School of Economics); Elena L. Del Mercato (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We consider a pure exchange economy with consumption externalities in preferences. We study commodity taxes and lump-sum transfers schemes, which lead to equilibrium allocations where all individuals are strictly better off. We extend the result of Geanakoplos and Polemarchakis (2008) on the generic existence of Pareto im- proving policies with uniform taxes and equal transfers to general non-separable preferences, when the number of individuals is strictly smaller than the number of commodities. We overcome this limitation by considering either uniform taxes with personalized lump-sum transfers, or personalized taxes with uniform lump-sum transfers. As in Geanakoplos and Polemarchakis (2008), we mainly use utility perturbations. We also provide the existence of Pareto improving policies for Bergson-Samuelson utilities and two-individual economies, without perturbing utilities |
| Keywords: | Consumption externalities; commodity taxes; lump-sum transfers; Pareto improvement |
| JEL: | D50 D60 D62 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:24007r |
| By: | Dirk Bergemann (Yale University); Marek Bojko (Yale University); Paul DŸtting (Google Research); Renato Paes Leme (Google Research); Haifeng Xu (University of Chicago and Google Research); Song Zuo (Google Research) |
| Abstract: | We study mechanism design when agents have private preferences and private information about a common payoff-relevant state. We show that standard message-driven mechanisms cannot implement socially efficient allocations when agents have multidimensional types, even under favorable conditions. To overcome this limitation, we propose data-driven mechanisms that leverage additional post-allocation information, modeled as an estimator of the payoff-relevant state. Our data-driven mechanisms extend the classic Vickrey-Clarke-Groves class. We show that they achieve exact implementation in posterior equilibrium when the state is either fully revealed or the utility is affine in an unbiased estimator. We also show that they achieve approximate implementation with a consistent estimator, converging to exact implementation as the estimator converges, and present bounds on the convergence rate. We demonstrate applications to digital advertising auctions and large language model (LLM)-based mechanisms, where user engagement naturally' reveals relevant information. |
| Date: | 2025–03–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2418r1 |
| By: | Daniel Fehrle (Kiel University, Department of Economics); Vasilij Konysev (University of Augsburg, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The comparative economic performance between the former socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) remains inconclusive due to valuation problems. We address these problems by applying wedge-growth accounting to a newly compiled dataset. More precisely, we compare the allocation efficiency using wedges between marginal utility and productivity, as well as Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth. Wedges in marginal utility account for binding quantity constraints in GDR’s goods and FRG’s labor market. We analyze the resulting unitless wedges and swap them in an equivalent growth model for the two Germanies to quantify their impact on output and economic welfare. The analysis reveals that the consequences of GDR’s rationing were multiple times more drastic than FRG’s unemployment. An observed faster output growth in the GDR stems from excessive labor input—depressing consumption-based welfare by a fourth—rather than from physical capital or TFP. Instead, GDR’s economic activity fell comparatively ten years further behind due to lower TFP growth. Lastly, persistent, substantial net inflows increase GDR’s welfare by 25 %. |
| Keywords: | Wedge-growth accounting, central planner allocation, quantity constraints |
| JEL: | E13 N14 O11 O47 P51 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aug:augsbe:347 |
| By: | Cremer, Helmuth; Casamatta, Georges |
| Abstract: | We examine the optimal combination of direct and indirect taxes in the presence of tax avoidance. Our findings indicate that linear commodity taxes should be included in the optimal tax mix, even when they are subject to avoidance and when the conditions of the Atkinson-Stiglitz theorem hold. This is because taxing consumption—despite the possibility of avoidance—enhances the ability to screen true income, whereas income taxation alone depends solely on reported income. Additionally, we show that when utility is weakly separable, tax rates should be positive and uniform across goods if the subutility function is homothetic, leading to linear Engel curves. However, when Engel curves are nonlinear, commodity taxes need not be uniform. Furthermore, the optimal taxation of luxuries versus necessities depends on the distribution of productivity levels. |
| Keywords: | direct and indirect taxes; avoidance |
| JEL: | H21 H26 |
| Date: | 2025–04–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:130515 |
| By: | Westrich, Zarah |
| Abstract: | Standard economic models view labour supply decisions as individual utility maximisation balancing the trade-off between income and leisure. In contrast, we focus on the social context as a central determinant and analyse how colleagues' working hours shape individual working hours preferences. Our analysis is based on a representative survey of employees in Germany that we conducted in October 2024 (N = 4, 450). Combining novel survey experiment with a quantitative text analysis of an open-ended survey question enables us to identify a causal mechanism and to provide contextual insights into the role of social context for the formation of working hours preferences. We show that colleagues' working hours causally affect working hours preferences. The reasons given by the respondents for choosing the stated working hours, by contrast, are primarily personal. This shows that preferences are socially determined, even if they are rationalised in individualistic terms. Our findings emphasise the importance of collective action for working time policy and highlight methodological challenges that need to be considered when analysing and interpreting working time preferences. |
| Keywords: | working hours, social comparisons, preference formation |
| JEL: | B55 D9 J22 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:315193 |
| By: | Giovanni Di Bartolomeo; Carolina Serpieri |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty is a challenge for monetary policy. This paper introduces local model uncertainty into a behavioral New Keynesian DSGE framework to derive robust optimal monetary policies. We consider two potential forms of agents' heterogeneity, which refer to two mechanisms of expectation formation used by a fraction of (boundedly rational) agents to generate their beliefs. In contrast, the rest of the population rationally forms its expectations. The central bank ignores the fraction of boundedly rational agents and the mechanism they use to form their expectations. Non-Bayesian robust control techniques are adopted to minimize a welfare loss derived from the second-order approximation of agents' utilities. |
| Keywords: | Brainard Principle; Monetary Policy; Bounded Rationality; Expectation Formation; Non-Bayesian Robust Control |
| JEL: | E52 E58 D84 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:wp261 |
| By: | Sandra Eickmeier |
| Abstract: | Economists recently have pointed to a critical disconnect between economic value and ethical values as a key societal issue. Using a survey of 2, 000 German households this paper reveals a misalignment between earnings and the values attributed to professions. Households prioritize professions addressing basic needs and benefiting society and nature over those offering personal utility, high remuneration, or economic growth, highlighting the importance of ethical considerations. This paper argues that values require a solid foundation rather than mere discussion or imposition. Linking values (and value) to awareness, it shows that more aware (along with more educated and informed) households favor professions supporting ethical values such as societal and environmental contributions, creativity, and beauty. Lastly, 60% of households support shifting societal values toward shared responsibility, though responses vary across households. |
| Keywords: | economic value, ethical values, earnings, prices, mindset, awareness, consciousness, surveys, direction of growth, quality of growth |
| JEL: | D9 E3 E7 I3 J3 Z1 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2025-14 |
| By: | Arkarup Basu Mallik (ISI Kolkata); Mihir Bhattacharya (Ashoka University); Anuj Bhowmik (ISI Kolkata) |
| Abstract: | We provide a model of individual choice in which the decision maker is constrained and chooses from a subset of the available alternatives given a set of attributes. We introduce an attribute competition filter which provides conditions under which an alternative continues to be considered from a subset of alternatives and a subset of attributes. We use two axioms to characterize a rational choice function from the consideration sets, Single Reversal in Attributes (SRA) and Contraction Consistency with Fixed Attributes (CCFA). The former only allows for a single reversal in choice from a subset of the attributes, while the latter requires choices to be contraction consistent. We show that a choice function from consideration sets under attributes is rationalizable if and only if the choice function satisfies SRA and CCFA. In another section, we consider the dual problem: The alternatives considered are exogenously visible i.e. all the alternatives are considered and limited attention is paid to the attributes available while the preference relation is over the set of alternatives via individual attributes. JEL classification: D00, D01 |
| Keywords: | limited attention, attributes, choice reversals |
| Date: | 2024–11–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ash:wpaper:135 |