Nonparametric Analysis of Random Coalitional Multi-Utility Models
Document Type
Lecture
Publication Date
9-21-2023
Abstract
In this paper, we study a method for testing the rational behavior of a population of consumers when observed choice data reveal a non-transitive preference relation. To this end, we develop a stochastic version of the coalitional multi-utility (CMU) model developed in Aguiar et al. (2022). The motivating application is to test the null hypothesis that a sample of cross-sectional demand distributions was generated by a population of rational consumers with complete, but not necessarily transitive, preference relations. We test a necessary and sufficient condition that does not rely on any restriction on unobserved heterogeneity or the number of goods. We provide an empirical characterization of this novel stochastic choice model and show that this characterization can be tested statistically. We also show how to evaluate the welfare implications of an observed price change. This work is a generalization of Kitamura & Stoye (2018)’s work on the nonparametric test of random utility models (RUM) for finite choice sets to situations where preferences are not transitive. We apply the new test to the UK Family Expenditure Survey (FES) and find evidence against RUM, while the random CMU model is not rejected in the dataset.
Relational Format
presentation
Recommended Citation
Youmbi, Wilfried, "Nonparametric Analysis of Random Coalitional Multi-Utility Models" (2023). Probability & Statistics Seminar. 15.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/math_statistics/15
