We demonstrate theoretically and illustrate the implications of assuming power utility when the true function is of the expo-power form. Empirical results can appear to be consistent with cumulative prospect theory when they are in fact generated from a Markowitz model.

The present work studies the optimal insurance policy offered by an insurer adopting a proportional premium principle to an insured whose decision-making behavior is modeled by Kahneman and Tversky’s Cumulative Prospect Theory with convex probability distortions. We show that, under a fixed...

This paper shows that the framework proposed by Barberis and Huang (2009) to incorporate narrow framing and loss aversion into dynamic models of portfolio choice and asset pricing can be extended to also account for probability weighting and for a value function that is convex on losses and...

A large body of evidence has documented that risk preferences depend nonlinearly on outcome probabilities. We discuss the foundations and economic consequences of probability-dependent risk preferences and offer a practitioner's guide to understanding and modeling probability dependence. We...

Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) has been used in a wide variety of economic models as an alternative to Expected Utility Theory (EUT). It is used to account for a number of anomalies in the observed behavior of economic agents. Like EUT, CPT uses a utility or value function to rate any given...

The conventional parameterizations of cumulative prospect theory do not explain the St. Petersburg paradox. To do so, the power coefficient of an individual's utility function must be lower than the power coefficient of an individual's probability weighting function.

This paper characterizes the conditions for strong risk aversion and second-order stochastic dominance for cumulative prospect theory. Strong risk aversion implies a convex weighting function for gains and a concave one for losses. It does not necessarily imply a concave utility function. The...

On average, "young" people underestimate whereas "old" people overestimate their chances to survive into the future. We adopt a Bayesian learning model of ambiguous survival beliefs which replicates these patterns. The model is embedded within a non-expected utility model of life-cycle...

On average, “young”people underestimate whereas “old”people overestimate their chances to survive into the future. We adopt a Bayesian learning model of ambiguous survival beliefs which replicates these patterns. The model is em-bedded within a non-expected utility model of...

This paper examines the incentives from stock options for loss-averse employees subject to probability weighting. Employing the certainty equivalence principle, I built on insights from Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) to derive a continuous time model to value options from the perspective of a...