Whereas many others have scrutinized the Allais paradox from a theoretical angle, we study the paradox from an historical perspective and link our findings to a suggestion as to how decision theory could make use of it today. We emphasize that Allais proposed the paradox as a normative argument,...

In this thesis I present three essays in which the influence of heuristics on individual decision making is analyzed and two essays dealing with behavioral aspects of moral costs. In chapter two, we investigate the effect a traders’ decision can have on the disposition effect heuristic when...

This dissertation studies how psychological motives shape economic preferences and outcomes and how these motives are activated through contextual stimuli. In particular, I focus on the motive care which is a prosocial motive that facilitated cooperation by internalizing externalities, whereas...

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. August 2009. Major: Economics. Advisor: Aldo Rustichini. 1 computer file (PDF);viii, 104 pages, appendices A-C.