Identifying Restrictions on the Random Utility Model

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Caradonna, Peter P., Turansick, Christopher
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Caradonna, Peter P.
Turansick, Christopher
author_facet Caradonna, Peter P.
Turansick, Christopher
contents We characterize those ex-ante restrictions on the random utility model which lead to identification. We first identify a simple class of perturbations which transfer mass from a suitable pair of preferences to the pair formed by swapping certain compatible lower contour sets. We show that two distributions over preferences are behaviorally equivalent if and only if they can be obtained from each other by a finite sequence of such transformations. Using this, we obtain specialized characterizations of which restrictions on the support of a random utility model yield identification, as well as of the extreme points of the set of distributions rationalizing a given data set. Finally, when a model depends smoothly on some set of parameters, we show that under mild topological assumptions, identification is characterized by a straightforward, local test.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_06547
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Identifying Restrictions on the Random Utility Model
Caradonna, Peter P.
Turansick, Christopher
Theoretical Economics
We characterize those ex-ante restrictions on the random utility model which lead to identification. We first identify a simple class of perturbations which transfer mass from a suitable pair of preferences to the pair formed by swapping certain compatible lower contour sets. We show that two distributions over preferences are behaviorally equivalent if and only if they can be obtained from each other by a finite sequence of such transformations. Using this, we obtain specialized characterizations of which restrictions on the support of a random utility model yield identification, as well as of the extreme points of the set of distributions rationalizing a given data set. Finally, when a model depends smoothly on some set of parameters, we show that under mild topological assumptions, identification is characterized by a straightforward, local test.
title Identifying Restrictions on the Random Utility Model
topic Theoretical Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.06547