We offer a rationalization of the weak axiom of revealed preference (WARP) and of the weak generalized axiom of revealed preference (WGARP) for both finite and infinite data sets of consumer choice. We call it maximin rationalization, in which each pairwise choice is associated with a "local"...

We find an inverted relation between a player's birthday and the likelihood of receiving the Ballon d'Or (awarded to the best football player in the world). We develop a multi-period skill formation model with selection into elite education. We show that those born late (underdogs) need to work...

The Houtman-Maks index is a measure of the size of a violation of utility maximizing (i.e., rational) behavior. This note introduces the Stata command hmindex, which calculates the Houtman-Maks index for a data set of prices and observed choices of a consumer. The command is illustrated with an...

Elite skills have become crucial in today's superstar economy. We develop a multi-period skill-formation model where we show that individuals with temporary disadvantages must exert greater effort to gain access to elite education. This "underdog-incentive effect" implies that "educated...

We offer a rationalization of the weak axiom of revealed preference (WARP) and of the weak generalized axiom of revealed preference (WGARP) for both finite and infinite data sets of consumer choice. We call it maximin rationalization, in which each pairwise choice is associated with a local...

This paper proposes a simple non-parametric framework to calculate income elasticities from a data set of observed prices and consumed quantities without having to estimate any parameters. The framework can be applied when the price-quantity data satisfies a revealed preference axiom called the...

Boards hire and fire CEOs based on imperfect information. Using comprehensive data on 28 cohorts in Sweden, we analyze the role of a potentially important unobserved attribute - CEO health - in corporate governance. We find CEOs are significantly healthier than the population and other highskill...

This brief note shows that if a production function, f, is quasiconcave, increasing and homogeneous, then f is concave if it displays nonincreasing returns to scale, and f is logconcave if it displays increasing returns to scale.

This paper introduces the Stata commands checkax, aei, and powers as a bundle within the package rpaxioms. The first command allows the user to test whether consumer demand data satisfy a number of revealed preference axioms at a given efficiency level, the second command calculates measures of...

Samuelson's (1938) weak (generalized) axiom of revealed preference- WGARP-is a minimal and appealing consistency condition of choice. We offer a rationalization of WGARP in general settings. Our main result is an exact analog of the celebrated Afriat's theorem, but for WGARP. Its ordinal...