In this article we provide a seminal academic investigation of mo-bile telephony consumers' perception of the recently introduced costcap tari in comparison to corresponding pay-per-use and atrate call-ing plans. Previous studies have identied several psychological eectsthrough which consumers...

Gaps in welfare attainment between boys and girls in China have attractedinternational attention. In this paper demand analysis is used to try and uncoverthe factors which may be driving the emergence of these gender gaps.Drawing on household expenditure data from a poor (Sichuan) and rich...

A framework is proposed for organizing phenomena related to the (mis)predictionof utility, in particular neglecting adaptation. A categorization is introduced that accounts forasymmetries in misprediction. In decision-making, goods and activities satisfying extrinsicdesires are more salient than...

Neoclassical economic theory rules out systematic errors in consumptionchoice. According to the basic view, individuals know what they choose. They areable to predict how much utility an activity or a good produces for them now and inthe future and they can maximize their utility. This implies...

Universities spend almost $2 billion subsidizing their collegiate sports programs. Even the mostpopular women’s sport, basketball, fails to break even. An application of Becker’s theory ofcustomer discrimination is used to calculate the relative preference for men’s basketball for bothmen...

In this paper we estimate and empirically test different behavioral theories of consumer reference price formation. Two major theories are proposed to model the reference price reaction: assimilation contrast theory and prospect theory. We assume that different consumer segments will use...

The aim of this study is to examine the underlying dimensions of self-stated attitudesand behaviour concerning everyday financial affairs, and classify individuals basedon those dimensions. A questionnaire was answered by 1282 respondents in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The sample of...

We consider the problem of optimal consumption for an investor who is risk and uncertainty avers. We model these preferences of the investor with the help of a convex risk-measure...

Strong growth in disposable income has driven, and is still driving, consumption to unprecedented,but not sustainable levels. To explain the dynamic interplay of needs, need satisfaction, andinnovation underlying that growth a behavioral theory of consumption is suggested and discussedwith...

Behavioral (e.g. consumption) patterns of boundedly rational agents can lead these agents intolearning dynamics that appear to be “wasteful” in terms of well-being or welfare. Within settingsdisplaying preference endogeneity, it is however still unclear how to conceptualize well-being.This...