We propose a model of instrumental belief choice under loss aversion. When new information arrives, an agent is prompted to abandon her prior. However, potential posteriors may induce her to take actions that generate a lower utility in some states than actions induced by her prior. These losses...

Manufacturers are increasingly producing and promoting sustainable products (i.e., products that have a positive social and/or environmental impact). However, relatively little is known about how product sustainability impacts consumers' preferences. We propose that sustainability may not always...

We propose a model of instrumental belief choice under loss aversion. When new information arrives, an agent is prompted to abandon her prior. However, potential posteriors may induce her to take actions that generate a lower utility in some states than actions induced by her prior. These losses...

Prospective economic developments depend on the behavior of consumer spending. A key question is whether private expenditures recover once social distancing restrictions are lifted or whether the COVID-19 crisis has a sustained impact on consumer confidence, preferences, and, hence, spending....

Bayes' Theorem has an implicit, fundamental rule of how subjects should incorporate informationally equivalent signals of opposite direction: two opposite-directional signals should cancel out such that prior beliefs remain constant. In this study, we test whether agents always follow this...

Prospective economic developments depend on the behavior of consumer spending. A key question is whether private expenditures recover once social distancing restrictions are lifted or whether the COVID-19 crisis has a sustained impact on consumer confidence, preferences, and, hence, spending....

Many individuals have empathetic feelings towards animals but frequently consume meat. We investigate this "meat paradox" using insights from the literature on motivated reasoning in moral dilemmata. We develop a model where individuals form self-serving beliefs about the suffering of animals...

This paper estimates the impact of household debt on consumption behaviour using data from the Japanese Preference Parameters Study. Covering the 2005-13 period, the survey is the first of its kind for Japan. It features responses to forward-looking questions about key risks to income, shedding...

Autonomous demand shock affects consumption spending. Variation in consumption spending contributes to the volatility in aggregate demand. As the investor is risk averse, volatility of aggregate demand reduces investment. Government injects monetary noise to reduce the volatility in aggregate...

According to the Becker-Murphy model, the consumption of a habitual good follows from forward-looking, maximizing, and time consistent choices on the basis of specific preferences. The ongoing use of such a good builds up a stock of consumption capital which, in turn, affects both its present...