Non-Optimal Behavior and Estimation of Risk Preferences

Non-optimal behavior due to budget constraint or credit availability is commonly observed in agricultural production. Not accounting for non-optimal behavior would result in biased estimates of risk preferences. A generalized model is developed in this article for estimating agents’ risk attitude accommodating both optimal and non-optimal behaviors. Results from Monte Carlo simulations suggest that estimation based on the proposed model yields consistent and unbiased risk preference estimates, whereas estimation based on the conventional modeling procedure produces biased results.