29 Nov '24
Finance Seminars | Friday Finance Seminar with Professor Savitar Sundaresan

Title: The Origins of Random Choice

Abstract: Using lab data on both choices and eye-movements we exam the relationship between randomness in choice and attention. Using repeated choices across 180 menu instances from 50 subjects we link observed choice to two notions of attention: extensive attention (what options are looked at) and intensive attention (how long options are looked at). Despite this, attention explains at most around a third of the randomness in choice. Although randomness in choice is much larger at the aggregate compared to the individual level, attention explains randomness in choice to the same degree in both. In ongoing work we conduct revealed preference tests of both random utility and random attention models.

Finance Seminar with Professor Savitar Sundaresan
  • On 29 November 2024