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Costly self-control and limited willpower

Author

Listed:
  • Meng-Yu Liang

    (Academia Sinica)

  • Simon Grant

    (Australian National University)

  • Sung-Lin Hsieh

    (University of Michigan)

Abstract

In Gul and Pesendorfer (Econometrica 69(6):1403–1435, 2001), a decision-maker, when facing a choice among menus, evaluates each menu in terms of the maximum value of its commitment utility net of self-control costs. This paper extends the model such that this maximum is constrained by the condition that the cost of self-control cannot exceed the decision-maker’s stock of willpower w. Four of the five axioms of our characterization are as in their Theorem 3 except that the independence axiom is restricted to a subset of menus. We add one new axiom to regulate willpower as a limited (cognitive) resource in which the available “stock” does not vary across menus. In our characterization, choices within menus that satisfy WARP reveal a constant trade-off between commitment and temptation utilities. However, it is the discontinuity of preferences over menus (along with violations of WARP for choices within menus) that reveals w (measured in units of temptation utility), allowing for a behaviorally meaningful comparative measure of self-control across individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Meng-Yu Liang & Simon Grant & Sung-Lin Hsieh, 2020. "Costly self-control and limited willpower," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(3), pages 607-632, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:70:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s00199-019-01231-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-019-01231-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John E. Stovall, 2010. "Multiple Temptations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(1), pages 349-376, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Borah, Abhinash & Garg, Raghvi, 2023. "Reference-dependent self-control: Menu effects and behavioral choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 129-145.
    2. Shinsuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ojima, 2021. "Tempting goods, self-control fatigue, and time preference in consumer dynamics," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 72(4), pages 1171-1216, November.
    3. Ahn, David S. & Iijima, Ryota & Sarver, Todd, 2020. "Naivete about temptation and self-control: Foundations for recursive naive quasi-hyperbolic discounting," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Temptation; Self-control; Willpower; Revealed preference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory

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