Comportement du consommateur face à un risque endogène immédiat

The aim of this article is to analyze the behavior of a consumer towards a current good whose consumption generates a health risk occurring soon after, such as a risk of food poisoning related to the presence of harmful elements. Starting from a simple model, in which the function of individual probability depends on the consumed quantity, we show that these endogeneous risks deform the consumer?s choices and lead to the non-convexity of the preferences. The resulting consumption equilibrium and demand functions are affected, according to the perceived degree of severity and according to the shape of the subjective quantity-probability function used by the consumer. Classification JEL : D11, D8, I1