IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cwl/cwldpp/1642.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Foundations of Intrinsic Habit Formation

Author

Abstract

We provide theoretical foundations for several common (nested) representations of intrinsic linear habit formation. These representations are dynamically consistent and additive, with geometrically decaying coefficients of habit formation. Our axiomatization introduces a revealed preference theory of weaning a decision-maker from her habits using the device of compensation. We characterize linear habit formation in terms of the ability to wean using uniquely determined compensating streams. Moreover, we distinguish between habits that are responsive to weaning and those that are persistent, develop a simple choice-theoretic measure of the rate of habit decay, and demonstrate how to recover the entire sequence of habit formation coefficients from observed choice behavior. We introduce novel monotonicity and separability axioms that are appropriate for time-nonseparable preferences. Our analysis suggests techniques for eliciting dynamic reference points from choice behavior and obtaining discounted utility representations on endogenously generated auxiliary spaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Kareen Rozen, 2008. "Foundations of Intrinsic Habit Formation," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1642, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1642
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cowles.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/pub/d16/d1642.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Botond Kőszegi & Matthew Rabin, 2006. "A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1133-1165.
    2. Jody Overland & Christopher D. Carroll & David N. Weil, 2000. "Saving and Growth with Habit Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(3), pages 341-355, June.
    3. Abel, Andrew B, 1990. "Asset Prices under Habit Formation and Catching Up with the Joneses," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 38-42, May.
    4. Kozicki, Sharon & Tinsley, P. A., 2002. "Dynamic specifications in optimizing trend-deviation macro models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 26(9-10), pages 1585-1611, August.
    5. Xiaohong Chen & Sydney C. Ludvigson, 2009. "Land of addicts? an empirical investigation of habit-based asset pricing models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(7), pages 1057-1093.
    6. Shalev, Jonathan, 1997. "Loss aversion in a multi-period model," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 203-226, June.
    7. David K. Backus & Bryan R. Routledge & Stanley E. Zin, 2005. "Exotic Preferences for Macroeconomists," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2004, Volume 19, pages 319-414, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Mark Schroder & Costis Skiadas, 2002. "An Isomorphism Between Asset Pricing Models With and Without Linear Habit Formation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1189-1221.
    9. Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1988. "A Theory of Rational Addiction," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 675-700, August.
    10. Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1991. "Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1039-1061.
    11. William Neilson, 2006. "Axiomatic reference-dependence in behavior toward others and toward risk," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 28(3), pages 681-692, August.
    12. Tjalling C. Koopmans, 1959. "Stationary Ordinal Utility and Impatience," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 81, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    13. Wendner, Ronald, 2003. "Do habits raise consumption growth?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 151-163, June.
    14. Boldrin, Michele & Christiano, Lawrence J. & Fisher, Jonas D.M., 1997. "Habit Persistence And Asset Returns In An Exchange Economy," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(2), pages 312-332, June.
    15. repec:jhu:papers:357 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1988. "A Theory of Rational Addiction," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 675-700, August.
    17. Shi, Shouyong & Epstein, Larry G, 1993. "Habits and Time Preference," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 34(1), pages 61-84, February.
    18. Xiaohong Chen & Sydney C. Ludvigson, 2004. "Land of Addicts? An Empirical Investigation of Habit-Based Asset Pricing Behavior," NBER Working Papers 10503, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Sydney C. Ludvigson & Xiaohong Chen, 2004. "An Empirical Investigation of Habit-Based Asset Pricing Models," Econometric Society 2004 North American Winter Meetings 332, Econometric Society.
    20. Ignacio Palacios-Huerta, 2001. "Multiple Addictions," Working Papers 2001-20, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    21. Uribe, Martin, 2002. "The price-consumption puzzle of currency pegs," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 533-569, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jacobs Martin, 2016. "Accounting for Changing Tastes: Approaches to Explaining Unstable Individual Preferences," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 67(2), pages 121-183, August.
    2. Lisa Morhaim & Ayşegül Yıldız Ulus, 2023. "On history-dependent optimization models: A unified framework to analyze models with habits, satiation and optimal growth," Post-Print hal-04103627, HAL.
    3. Choi, Kyoung Jin & Jeon, Junkee & Koo, Hyeng Keun, 2022. "Intertemporal preference with loss aversion: Consumption and risk-attitude," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    4. Morhaim, Lisa & Ulus, Ayşegül Yıldız, 2023. "On history-dependent optimization models: A unified framework to analyze models with habits, satiation and optimal growth," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Rosenblatt-Wisch, Rina, 2008. "Loss aversion in aggregate macroeconomic time series," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1140-1159, October.
    6. Luca Gori & Mauro Sodini, 2014. "Indeterminacy and nonlinear dynamics in an OLG growth model with endogenous labour supply and inherited tastes," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 37(1), pages 159-179, April.
    7. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto, 2022. "Behavioural utilitarianism and distributive justice," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    8. Corrado, Luisa & Holly, Sean, 2011. "Multiplicative habit formation and consumption: A note," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(2), pages 116-119.
    9. Gerelt Tserenjigmid, 2020. "On the characterization of linear habit formation," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(1), pages 49-93, July.
    10. Gómez Manuel A., 2010. "Endogenous Growth, Habit Formation and Convergence Speed," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-32, January.
    11. Holger Kraft & Claus Munk & Frank Thomas Seifried & Sebastian Wagner, 2017. "Consumption habits and humps," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 64(2), pages 305-330, August.
    12. Manel Baucells & Rakesh K. Sarin, 2013. "Determinants of Experienced Utility: Laws and Implications," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 135-151, June.
    13. Ian Crawford, 2007. "A nonparametric analysis of habits models," CeMMAP working papers CWP30/07, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    14. Jose Apesteguia & Miguel Ballester, 2009. "A theory of reference-dependent behavior," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 40(3), pages 427-455, September.
    15. Christian Grund & Dirk Sliwka, 2007. "Reference-Dependent Preferences and the Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 163(2), pages 313-335, June.
    16. Grund, Christian & Sliwka, Dirk, 2001. "The Impact of Wage Increases on Job Satisfaction - Empirical Evidence and Theoretical Implications," IZA Discussion Papers 387, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Yu Chen & Thomas Cosimano & Alex Himonas, 2008. "Solving an asset pricing model with hybrid internal and external habits, and autocorrelated Gaussian shocks," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 4(3), pages 305-344, July.
    18. M Boschi & S d'Addona & A Goenka, 2012. "Testing external habits in an asset pricing model," CAMA Working Papers 2012-20, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    19. Drugeon, Jean-Pierre & Wigniolle, Bertrand, 2007. "On time preference, rational addiction and utility satiation," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3-4), pages 249-286, April.
    20. Pagano, Patrizio, 2004. "Habit persistence and the marginal propensity to consume in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 316-329, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Linear habit formation; Time-nonseparable preferences; Compensation; Weaning; Compensated separability; Gains monotonicity; Endogenously generated auxiliary spaces;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C60 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - General
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1642. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Brittany Ladd (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cowleus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.