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On attitude towards choice - Some experimental evidence of choice aversion

Author

Listed:
  • Fabrice Le Lec

    (Catholic University of Lille and LEM, UMR CNRS 8179)

  • Benoît Tarroux

    (University of Rennes 1 - CREM, UMR CNRS 6211 - IDEP)

Abstract

This paper investigates how people value choice. The experiment consists of eliciting subjects' willingness to accept for various choice sets. This approach allows us to assess whether prior to making their decision, people appreciate a wider set of options or not. In contrast with the existing literature, our experimental protocol controsl for several parameters usually left aside and provides an environment where usual explanations are unlikely to hold, e.g., complexity of task. Our results suggest that on average individuals are choice averse: the value of a choice set is significantly and robustly lower than the one of its preferred element.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabrice Le Lec & Benoît Tarroux, 2012. "On attitude towards choice - Some experimental evidence of choice aversion," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 201230, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    • Handle: RePEc:tut:cremwp:201230
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James Foster, 2010. "Freedom, Opportunity and Wellbeing," OPHI Working Papers 35, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    2. Gravel, Nicolas, 1994. "Can a Ranking of Opportunity Sets Attach an Intrinsic Importance to Freedom of Choice?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 454-458, May.
    3. Loomes, Graham & Sugden, Robert, 1982. "Regret Theory: An Alternative Theory of Rational Choice under Uncertainty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(368), pages 805-824, December.
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    6. Steffen Andersen & Glenn Harrison & Morten Lau & E. Rutström, 2009. "Elicitation using multiple price list formats," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 12(3), pages 365-366, September.
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    Blog mentions

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    1. Weekly Roundup 186: A Curated Linkfest For The Smartest People On The Web!
      by Miguel in Simoleon Sense on 2012-09-16 09:29:18

    RePEc Biblio mentions

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    1. > Schools of Economic Thought, Epistemology of Economics > Heterodox Approaches > Thermoeconomics > Bifurcations of the entropy law

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabrice Le Lec & Marianne Lumeau & Benoît Tarroux, 2016. "Choice or information overload ?," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 2016-07, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    2. Marc Bourreau & Marianne Lumeau & Francois Moreau & Jordana Viotto da Cruz, 2019. "Recent or Free? An Experimental Study of the Motivations for Pirating Movies," CESifo Working Paper Series 8036, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Choice Aversion; Choice Attitude; Hyperchoice; Freedom of Choice; Choice Overload;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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