Despite ample evidence of ambiguity preferences in individual decision making, experimental studies of ambiguity effects in financial markets are scarce and inconclusive. Although a number of theoretical studies explain empirical puzzles in finance with ambiguity preferences, it is not a given...

This paper incorporates expectations-based reference-dependent preferences into the canonical Lucas-tree asset-pricing economy. Expectations-based loss aversion increases the equity premium and decreases the consumption-wealth ratio, because uncertain fluctuations in consumption are perceived to...

We report experimental evidence on gender differences in financial decision that involves three depositors choosing between waiting or withdrawing their money from a common bank. We find that the position in the line, the fact of being observed and the observed decisions are key determinants to...

Although there are alternative models which can explain the Allais paradox with non-standard preferences, they do not take the emerging evidence on preference imprecision into account. The imprecision is so far incorporated into these models by adding a stochastic specification implying the...

In 1988 Dybvig introduced the payoff distribution pricing model (PDPM) as an alternative to the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). Under this new paradigm agents preferences depend on the probability distribution of the payoff and for the same distribution agents prefer the payoff that requires...

Stereotypes pose a major challenge to agents entering a foreign market. In order to overcome these stereotypes, visitor agents may decide to emulate domestic behavior. We develop a simple model of reputation building in transactions where identities are revealed and show that this tendency may...

In social sciences there has been a long debate between the defenders of institutionalism and those of liberalism. The debate has centered around the relationship that exists between the individual (agent) and the social institutions (social structure). In general, liberalism defends that the...

The main thesis in this manuscript is that a social choice theory based on aggregating individual preferences and values is insufficient to confront the social choices that today’s world is facing. It is defended in here that institutions play a critical role in any social choice, and that the...

In less than fifteen years, the world has experienced the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s, the worst global pandemic since the flu in 1918, and the largest war fought since the Second World War. This manuscript argues that these crises are not isolated events. The main thesis is that...

This book presents the reasons for which, given the globalization brought about by the ICT revolution, both liberalism and realism are ill suited as guides for international relations. And it argues in favor of a third option: institutionalism. The liberal ideal of progress and peace, brought...