Is the imprecision of economic forecasts due to the judgements of biased decision makers? This study explores decision making among expert forecasters in Sweden using semistructured interviews. The results indicate that forecasters' decision processes are characterised by intuitive, as well as calculating reasoning, gradually adopting mental models and conflicting goals. This indicates that forecasters are better described as ecologically rational rather than biased decision makers. A consequence is that behavioural forecasting research would benefit from taking into account the specific decision-making environment in which forecasters operate.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.