Daily Events
14:00 | Room 6 | Applied Micro Research Seminar
Roberta Ziparo (Aix-Marseille University) "Optimal Intra-household Decision Structure"
Aix-Marseille University, France
Abstract: Bargaining power within the couple is often proxied in surveys by measures of who has a say in the decisions: the more a couple interacts about choices the more the bargaining power is considered balanced within the couple. However, joint decision making could also reflect non-aligned preferences among partners: using first hand data from Cameroon we see that more aligned couples know less about each other’s resources and delegate more.
To explore this pattern, we develop the first theoretical framework that studies optimal decision structure in the household. We analyse how the degree of preference alignment and the differences in the opportunity costs of time determine when delegation or negotiation is preferable. We derive testable prediction about optimal decision structure and welfare. Delegation is observed when the (opportunity) cost of participating in the decision is higher than the preference gap between spouses. Welfare is higher when delegation occurs but lower for the spouse who receives authority. We test the predictions in two experiments conducted among couples in Belgium and France, and Benin.
18:00 | Public Lecture
Lecture by Prof. Filip Matějka: Society in the Age of Inattention
We make decisions in an environment flooded with information – but how much of it do we actually perceive? How does inattention affect markets, companies, elections, and economic policy? We invite you to a lecture by Professor Filip Matějka from CERGE-EI, winner of the Neuron Prize, who will explain why research into rational inattention is essential for understanding human behavior today and offer recommendations relevant to economic policy and social practice.
The lecture will follow up on Filip's article "Rational Inattention to Discrete Choices," the world's most cited theoretical publication in economics in recent years, which expanded the concept of rational inattention. This concept has fundamentally changed the understanding of decision-making under conditions of limited attention and laid a new foundation for modern economic models.
The lecture will be held in Czech and is intended for invited guests only.
