Dynamic Inconsistency and Self-Control

个人如何解决一个固定的选择问题通常取决于决策的时间。本项目研究这种称为动态不一致的现象。主要的创新是将自我控制作为偏好的一个明显特征。在消费时，自我控制在选择行为和偏好之间制造了一个楔子。第一步是获得捕获动态不一致性的首选项的简单表示。这种表征有助于将自我控制量化为一种效用惩罚，这种效用惩罚适用于任何最终选择对事后自我来说不是最优的情况。该模型区分了在消费时发生的自我控制和更早发生的承诺。可以开发动态不一致的度量和自我控制度量。将扩展当前的动态不一致模型，以允许中间消耗和不确定性的暂时解决。这将允许对宏观经济学和金融经济学中使用的消费和储蓄标准模型进行分析。通过使用本项目开发的工具，将对相关的心理机制进行形式化分析，并进行合理化。

How individuals resolve a fixed choice problem often depends on when the decision is made. This project studies this phenomenon called dynamic inconsistency. The main innovation is the introduction of self-control as a distinct feature of preferences. Self-control creates a wedge between choice behavior and preferences at the time of consumption. The first step is to derive a simple representation of preferences that captures dynamic inconsistency. The representation facilitates the quantification of self-control as a utility penalty that applies whenever the ultimate choice is not optimal for the ex post self. The model distinguishes between self-control which occurs at time of consumption and commitment which takes place earlier. A measure of dynamic inconsistency and a measure of self-control can be developed. The current model of dynamic inconsistency will be extended to allow for intermediate consumption and temporal resolution of uncertainty. This will permit the analysis of the standard models of consumption and saving used in macroeconomics and financial economics. By using the tools developed in this project, formal analysis of related psychological mechanism, rationalization, will be undertaken.