Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T12:12:25.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

CHOICE, INTERNAL CONSISTENCY AND RATIONALITY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2011

Aditi Bhattacharyya ,
Prasanta K. Pattanaik  and
Yongsheng Xu
Aditi Bhattacharyya
Affiliation:
Sam Houston State University
Prasanta K. Pattanaik
Affiliation:
University of California, Riverside
Yongsheng Xu
Affiliation:
Georgia State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The classical theory of rational choice is built on several important internal consistency conditions. In recent years, the reasonableness of those internal consistency conditions has been questioned and criticized, and several responses to accommodate such criticisms have been proposed in the literature. This paper develops a general framework to accommodate the issues raised by the criticisms of classical rational choice theory, and examines the broad impact of these criticisms from both normative and positive points of view.

Type
Articles
Information
Economics & Philosophy , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , July 2011 , pp. 123 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arrow, K. J. 1959. Rational choice functions and orderings. Economica 26: 121–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baigent, N. 2007. Choice, norms and revealed preference. Analyse & Kritik 29: 139–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baigent, N. and Gaertner, W. 1996. Never choose the uniquely largest: a characterization. Economic Theory 8: 239–249.Google Scholar
Bandyopadhyay, T., Dasgupta, I. and Pattanaik, P. K. 1999. Stochastic revealed preference. Journal of Economic Theory 84: 95–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandyopadhyay, T., Dasgupta, I. and Pattanaik, P.K. 2004. A general revealed preference theorem for stochastic demand behaviour. Economic Theory 23: 589–599.Google Scholar
Bossert, W. 2001. Choices, consequences, and rationality. Synthese 129: 343–369.Google Scholar
Bossert, W. and Suzumura, K. 2009a. External norms and rationality of choice. Economics and Philosophy 25: 139–152.Google Scholar
Bossert, W. and Suzumura, K. 2009b. Rationality, external norms and the epistemic value of menus. Social Choice and Welfare, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Chernoff, H. 1954. Rational selection of decision functions. Econometrica 22: 422–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dasgupta, I., Kumar, S. and Pattanaik, P.K. 2000. Consistent choice and falsifiability of the maximization hypothesis. In Capitalism, Socialism, and Radical Political Economy, ed. Pollin, R., 136–153. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Fehr, E., Klein, A. and Schmidt, K.M. 2007. Fairness and contract design. Econometrica 75: 121–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaertner, W. and Xu, Y. 1997. Optimization and external reference: a comparison of three axiomatic systems. Economics Letters 57: 57–62.Google Scholar
Gaertner, W. and Xu, Y. 1999a. On rationalizability of choice functions: a characterization of the median. Social Choice and Welfare 16: 629–638.Google Scholar
Gaertner, W. and Xu, Y. 1999b. On the structure of choice under different external references. Economic Theory 14: 609–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaertner, W. and Xu, Y. 2004. Procedural choice. Economic Theory 24: 335–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houthakker, H. 1950. Revealed preference and the utility function. Economica 17: 159–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalai, G., Rubinstein, A. and Spiegler, R. 2002. Rationalizing choice functions by multiple rationales. Econometrica 70: 2481–2488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Little, I. M. D. 1949. A reformulation of the theory of consumer's behavior. Oxford Economic Papers 1: 90–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luce, R.D. and Raiffa, H. 1957. Games and Decisions. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Quine, W. 1953. Two dogmas of empiricism. In From a Logical Point of View: Nine Logico-philosophical Essays. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Richter, M.K. 1966. Revealed preference theory. Econometrica 34: 635–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richter, M.K. 1971. Rational choice. In Preference, Utility, and Demand, ed. Chipman, J., Hurwicz, L., Richter, M. and Sonnenschein, H., 29–58. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Samuelson, P.A. 1938. A note on the pure theory of consumer's behavior. Economica 5: 61–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Samuelson, P.A. 1947. Foundations of Economic Analysis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Samuelson, P.A. 1948. Consumption theory in terms of revealed preference. Economica 15: 243–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, A.K. 1993. Internal consistency of choice. Econometrica 61: 495–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonson, I. 1989. Choice based on reasons: the case of attraction and compromise effects. Journal of Consumer Research 16: 158–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzumura, K. and Xu, Y. 2001. Characterizations of consequentialism and non-consequentialism. Journal of Economic Theory 101: 423–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, Y. 2007. Norm-constrained choices. Analyses & Kritik 29: 329–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar