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Disentangling Intertemporal Substitution and Risk Aversion under the Expected Utility Theorem

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  • Lau, Chi-Lei Oscar

Abstract

A disturbing feature of the conventional objective function for intertemporal decisions under uncertainty is that the agent's attitudes toward intertemporal substitution and risk aversion are entangled. This paper shows that, in contrast to common perception, the two attitudes can be completely disentangled under the expected utility theorem (EUT) by modeling each of them successively in two steps. The conventional form is nested as a special case where the functions describing the two attitudes are identical. The proposed framework requires only the standard axioms of the EUT, in addition to a regulatory assumption. It is flexible in accommodating different combinations of the two attitudes, indifferent to the timing of resolution of uncertainty, intuitive to interpret, and extendable to multiple goods. The objective function under the proposed framework is time inconsistent according to Strotz's (1955) definition. I argue that Strotz's notion of time consistency is misguided. It is constructed based on a priori assumption that the agent should continuously forget history as time progresses. But this means the agent is either chronically amnesiac or self-contradictory. To be truly consistent, the agent should have one and only one objective function, determined at birth, throughout his entire life. As history unfolds, the agent updates his information set, but not his objective function.

Suggested Citation

  • Lau, Chi-Lei Oscar, 2008. "Disentangling Intertemporal Substitution and Risk Aversion under the Expected Utility Theorem," MPRA Paper 11482, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:11482
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    Cited by:

    1. John Armstrong & Cristin Buescu, 2019. "Collectivised Post-Retirement Investment," Papers 1909.12730, arXiv.org, revised Apr 2020.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intertemporal substitution; Risk aversion; Expected utility theorem; Time consistency; Equity premium puzzle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth

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