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1.3Decisionmakingbyindividualsandhouseholds
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jobsandbetterearnings.Furthermore,ifapersonearnsmore,heorshealso
spendsmore.Sometimesevenanoccupationitselfinfluencestheconsumption
habits(lookforinstanceatlawyers,doctorsoractors).
•
Cultural-thesefactorsareaspecificcategoryofsocialfactors.Their
influenceontheconsumptiondecisionsisaresultoflongtermcommon
consensusonthehabits,customsandvaluessharedbythesociety.This
differenceisclearlynoticeablewhencomparingpeoplewithdifferent
nationalitiesorreligiousbeliefs,forinstance,whenwecompareItalianand
ChinesecuisineortheconsumptionhabitsofJewsandMuslims.
•
Leisure-thefreetimefactorisconsideredtobebothagoodwhichis
consumedlikeanyothergoodsandaconsumptiondeterminant.Inthelatter
case,themoreoffreetime(awayfromworkandfrommeetingthebasic
physiologicalneedslikesleep)peoplehave,themoretimetheycanspendon
consumingothergoods/services.Thisrelationisstrongerinwealthier
households.
Consumerpreferencesrepresentsubjectiveandindividualtendenciestochoose
onegoodoveranother.Inthedecisionmakingprocess,thereisavastscopeof
decisiondilemmas.Similarly,thepreferencesofdecisionmakersarealsoverybroad.
Themostbasictypesofpreferencesarerelatedtoconsumingparticulargoods,for
instanceonepersonmightpreferorangejuicetoapplejuice.Inthiscategory,mostly
thefeatures(i.e.,thetaste,quality,usability)ofaparticulargooddecide,whether
aconsumerprefersittoanother.Secondtypeofpreferencesreferstoservices.Here
similarly,factorssuchasqualityofaservice,fashionorlifestyleaffectpeople’s
choices.
Wecanfindthateachaspectoflifehasitsdeterminantthataffectschoices.In
classicalapproach,thepreferencesareindependentofincomeandprices.Abilityto
purchasegoodsdoesnotdetermineconsumers’likesordislikes.Onecanhave
apreferenceforPorschesoverFords,butonlyhavethefinancialmeanstodrive
aFord.ThefinancialmeansimposeaconstraintthatmakespeoplebuymoreFords
thanPorsches.
Inmodernchoicetheory,itissaidthatpreferencesfulfilthefollowingproperties:
•
Completeness-adecisionmakercandecidetoexpresstheirpreferences
betweenanygivenalternatives(A≥BorB≥A).ThismeansthatAisatleast
asgoodasBorBisatleastasgoodasAandallowstocompareanypossible
choicebyadecisionmaker;
•
Transitivity-adecisionmakerisconsistentintheirpreferences.IfoptionA
ispreferredtoBandBispreferredtoC,thenAhastobepreferredtoC.
(A>BandB>CimpliesA>C).Thisassumptionisfundamentalfor
areasonableandrationaldecisionanalysis,aswellastheutilitytheory;
•
Reflexivity-achoiceisatleastasgoodasitis(A≥A);
•
Monotonicity-adecisionmakeralwaysprefersmoregoods(A’)thanhe
consumesnow(A),thusA’≥A.