Foundations of Contemporary Revealed Preference Theory

This paper examines methodological issues raised by revealed preference theory in economics: particularly contemporary revealed preference theory. The paper has three goals. First, to make the case that revealed preference theory is a broad research program in choice theory—not a single theory—and u...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Erkenntnis 2013-10, Vol.78 (5), p.1081-1108
Main Author: Hands, D. Wade
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral economics
Consumer behavior
Economic research
Economic theory
Economic utility
Education
Epistemology
Ethics
Folk psychology
Logic
Normativity
Ontology
Original Article
Philosophical logics. Philosophy of language
Philosophy
Preferences
Rational choice theory
Utility functions
Welfare economics
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Summary:This paper examines methodological issues raised by revealed preference theory in economics: particularly contemporary revealed preference theory. The paper has three goals. First, to make the case that revealed preference theory is a broad research program in choice theory—not a single theory—and understanding this diversity is essential to any methodological analysis of the program. Second, to explore some of the existing criticisms of revealed preference theory in a way that emphasizes how the effectiveness of the critique depends on the particular version of revealed preference under consideration. Finally, three additional criticisms are presented that are aimed specifically at contemporary revealed preference theory.
ISSN:0165-0106
1572-8420
DOI:10.1007/s10670-012-9395-2