Decision, Probability and Utility

Decision, Probability and Utility PDF Author: Peter Gärdenfors
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521336581
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Get Book Here

Book Description
Decision theory and the theory of rational choice have recently been the subjects of considerable research by philosophers and economists. However, no adequate anthology exists which can be used to introduce students to the field. This volume is designed to meet that need. The essays included are organized into five parts covering the foundations of decision theory, the conceptualization of probability and utility, pholosophical difficulties with the rules of rationality and with the assessment of probability, and causal decision theory. The editors provide an extensive introduction to the field and introductions to each part.

Decision, Probability and Utility

Decision, Probability and Utility PDF Author: Peter Gärdenfors
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521336581
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Get Book Here

Book Description
Decision theory and the theory of rational choice have recently been the subjects of considerable research by philosophers and economists. However, no adequate anthology exists which can be used to introduce students to the field. This volume is designed to meet that need. The essays included are organized into five parts covering the foundations of decision theory, the conceptualization of probability and utility, pholosophical difficulties with the rules of rationality and with the assessment of probability, and causal decision theory. The editors provide an extensive introduction to the field and introductions to each part.

Experiments on Decisions under Risk: The Expected Utility Hypothesis

Experiments on Decisions under Risk: The Expected Utility Hypothesis PDF Author: P.J.H. Schoemaker
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401750408
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 228

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this valuable book, Paul Schoemaker summarizes recent experimental and field research that he and others have undertaken regarding the descrip tive validity of expected utility theory as a model of choice under uncer tainty. His principal message is that this paradigm is too narrow in its con ception and misses some of the important elements of a descriptive model of individual choice. In particular, Schoemaker calls attention to the impor tance of individual differences, task effects, and context effects as they influence behavior. The expected utility hypothesis has come under scrutiny in recent years from a number of different quarters. This book brings together these many studies and relates them to the large body of literature on individual de cision making under risk. Although this paradigm may be appropriate for describing behavior under many conditions of uncertainty, Schoemaker presents convincing evidence that it does not do well with respect to protec tion against low-probability events. For example, he shows that the insur ance purchase decision is influenced by the way information is presented to the client, as well as by the statistical knowledge of the respondents.

Utility and Probability

Utility and Probability PDF Author: John Eatwell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349205680
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 330

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is an excerpt from the 4-volume dictionary of economics, a reference book which aims to define the subject of economics today. 1300 subject entries in the complete work cover the broad themes of economic theory. This extract concentrates on utility and probability.

Improving Homeland Security Decisions

Improving Homeland Security Decisions PDF Author: Ali E. Abbas
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107161886
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 787

Get Book Here

Book Description
Are we safer from terrorism today and is our homeland security money well spent? This book offers answers and more.

Rational Choice Using Imprecise Probabilities and Utilities

Rational Choice Using Imprecise Probabilities and Utilities PDF Author: Paul Weirich
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108604781
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 141

Get Book Here

Book Description
An agent often does not have precise probabilities or utilities to guide resolution of a decision problem. I advance a principle of rationality for making decisions in such cases. To begin, I represent the doxastic and conative state of an agent with a set of pairs of a probability assignment and a utility assignment. Then I support a decision principle that allows any act that maximizes expected utility according to some pair of assignments in the set. Assuming that computation of an option's expected utility uses comprehensive possible outcomes that include the option's risk, no consideration supports a stricter requirement.

Introduction to Statistical Decision Theory

Introduction to Statistical Decision Theory PDF Author: Silvia Bacci
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351621386
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
Introduction to Statistical Decision Theory: Utility Theory and Causal Analysis provides the theoretical background to approach decision theory from a statistical perspective. It covers both traditional approaches, in terms of value theory and expected utility theory, and recent developments, in terms of causal inference. The book is specifically designed to appeal to students and researchers that intend to acquire a knowledge of statistical science based on decision theory. Features Covers approaches for making decisions under certainty, risk, and uncertainty Illustrates expected utility theory and its extensions Describes approaches to elicit the utility function Reviews classical and Bayesian approaches to statistical inference based on decision theory Discusses the role of causal analysis in statistical decision theory

Handbook of the Economics of Risk and Uncertainty

Handbook of the Economics of Risk and Uncertainty PDF Author: Mark Machina
Publisher: Newnes
ISBN: 0444536868
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 897

Get Book Here

Book Description
The need to understand the theories and applications of economic and finance risk has been clear to everyone since the financial crisis, and this collection of original essays proffers broad, high-level explanations of risk and uncertainty. The economics of risk and uncertainty is unlike most branches of economics in spanning from the individual decision-maker to the market (and indeed, social decisions), and ranging from purely theoretical analysis through individual experimentation, empirical analysis, and applied and policy decisions. It also has close and sometimes conflicting relationships with theoretical and applied statistics, and psychology. The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of diverse aspects of this field, ranging from classical and foundational work through current developments. - Presents coherent summaries of risk and uncertainty that inform major areas in economics and finance - Divides coverage between theoretical, empirical, and experimental findings - Makes the economics of risk and uncertainty accessible to scholars in fields outside economics

An Introduction to Decision Theory

An Introduction to Decision Theory PDF Author: Martin Peterson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107151597
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
A comprehensive and accessible introduction to all aspects of decision theory, now with new and updated discussions and over 140 exercises.

Theory of Decision Under Uncertainty

Theory of Decision Under Uncertainty PDF Author: Itzhak Gilboa
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 052151732X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book describes the classical axiomatic theories of decision under uncertainty, as well as critiques thereof and alternative theories. It focuses on the meaning of probability, discussing some definitions and surveying their scope of applicability. The behavioral definition of subjective probability serves as a way to present the classical theories, culminating in Savage's theorem. The limitations of this result as a definition of probability lead to two directions - first, similar behavioral definitions of more general theories, such as non-additive probabilities and multiple priors, and second, cognitive derivations based on case-based techniques.

Foundations of Utility and Risk Theory with Applications

Foundations of Utility and Risk Theory with Applications PDF Author: Bernt P. Stigum
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789048183647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this volume we present some o~ the papers that were delivered at FUR-82 - the First International Con~erence on Foundations o~ Utility and Risk Theory in Oslo, June 1982. The purpose o~ the con~erence was to provide a ~orum within which scientists could report on interesting applications o~ modern decision theory and exchange ideas about controversial issues in the ~oundations o~ the theory o~ choice under un certainty. With that purpose in mind we have selected a mixture of applied and theoretical papers that we hope will appeal to a wide spectrum o~ readers ~rom graduate students in social science departments and business schools to people involved in making hardheaded decisions in business and government. In an introductory article Ole Hagen gives an overview o~ various paradoxes in utility and risk theory and discusses these in the light o~ scientific methodology. He concludes the article by calling ~or joint efforts to provide decision makers with warkable theories. Kenneth Arrow takes up the same issue on a broad basis in his paper where he discusses the implications o~ behavior under uncertainty for policy. In the theoretical papers the reader will ~ind attempts at de~initive Statements of the meaning o~ old concepts and suggestions for the adoption o~ new concepts. For instance, Maurice Allais discusses four di~ferent interpretations o~ the axioms o~ probability and explains the need ~or an empirical characterization o~ the concept of chance.