www.coalitiontheory.net
Published on www.coalitiontheory.net (http://coalitiontheory.net)

Home > Ordinal Relative Satisficing Behavior

Ordinal Relative Satisficing Behavior

Working paper
Author/s: 
Salvador Barberà and Alejandro Neme
Series: 
Barcelona GSE
Year: 
2014
PDF [1]
We propose a notion of r-rationality, based on the idea that the choices of individuals are guided by a single preference order, but rather than always choosing the very best available alternative, agents are content with selecting one of the r-best. This proposal provides a purely ordinal and relative version of the classical idea of satis…cing behavior. No level of satisfaction is exogenously fixed, agents are not full maximizers, but they follow a clear pattern of behavior whose consequences generate testable implications, which we fully characterize. The notion of r-rationalizability is further extended to individuals whose ordinal satisficing level may vary depending on the set of available alternatives: a similar characterization obtains. Since any choice function F is n-rationalizable, we can ask for the minimal r(F) for which F is r(F)-rationalizable, and take that value as a measure of the agent´s degree of rationality. We provide an algorithm to compute it for any given F. Special cases of ordinal relative satisficing behavior are shown to result from a variety of choice models proposed in the literature. Our notion allows for further flexibility, yet still provides precise restrictions on observable data.
Tags: 
Social Choice [2]

Source URL:http://coalitiontheory.net/content/ordinal-relative-satisficing-behavior

Links
[1] http://pareto.uab.es/sbarbera/WEB SB-Conxa/WP/SB-AN Ordinal WP790 BGSE Oct2014.pdf [2] http://coalitiontheory.net/research-areas/social-choice