In this paper we extend the theory of precautionary saving to the case in which uncertainty is multidimensional and we develop a matrix-measure of multivariate prudence. Furthermore, we characterize comparative prudence, decreasing and increasing prudence, the effect of uncertainty on the...

We study comparative statics of Nth-degree risk increases within a large class of problems that involve bidimensional payoffs and additive or multiplicative risks. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for unambiguous impact of Nth-degree risk increases on optimal decision making. We...

Kimball (1990) established that income risk increases the marginal propensity to consume if and only if absolute prudence is decreasing. We characterize decreasing and increasing multivariate prudence and we show that a multidimensional risk increases the marginal propensity to consume if and...

In this paper we analyse the risk attitude of a group of heterogenous agents and we develop a theory of comparative collective risk tolerance. In particular, we characterize how shifts in the distribution of individual levels of risk tolerance affect the representative agent's degree of risk...

This paper derives the properties of the discount rate that should be applied to a public-sector project when the affected population has heterogeneous degrees of impatience. We show that, for any distribution of discount rates, the social discount rate has the following properties: it decreases...

We address the problem of a social planner who, as in Weitzman (2001), gathers data on experts discount rates and wants to infer the socially efficient consumption discount rate. We propose an equilibrium approach and we analyse the expression and the properties of the resulting equilibrium...

We consider a model in which any investment opportunity is described in terms of cash flows. We don't assume that there is a numéraire, enabling investors to transfer wealth through time; the time horizon is not supposed to be finite and the investment opportunities are not specifically related...

We revisit the model proposed by Gollier and Muermann (see Gollier, C. and A. Muermann, 2010, Optimal choice and beliefs with exante savoring and ex-post disappointment, Management Sci., 56, 1272-1284, hereafter GM). In GM, for a given lottery, agents form anticipated expected payoffs and the...

Why do investors keep different opinions even though they learn from their own failures and successes? Why do investors keep different opinions even though they observe each other and learn from their relative failures and successes? We analyze beliefs dynamics when beliefs result from a very...

Why do investors keep different opinions even though they learn from their own failures and successes? Why do investors keep different opinions even though they observe each other and learn from their relative failures and successes? We analyze beliefs dynamics when beliefs result from a very...