Project description
Studying for fundamental biases during prospective learning
Most important economic decisions are made after individuals have had time to gather and evaluate relevant information. Investors research company fundamentals to predict stock prices, managers experiment with different organisational structures before selecting one, and consumers read reviews to make more informed purchases. However, acquiring information can be costly and time-consuming, requiring decision-makers to assess its benefits through prospective learning. The ERC-funded PROSPECT project will investigate how efficiently individuals assess the value of information and apply it in decision-making. The project aims to identify fundamental biases in dynamic decision-making, such as tendencies to under-experiment or acquire insufficient information.
Objective
Many important economic decisions are made after individuals have had opportunities to acquire information. For example, investors can do research about the fundamentals of companies to estimate their future stock prices; consumers can read reviews before making purchase decisions; managers can experiment with different organizational structures before settling on one. As information acquisition is costly, decision-makers must evaluate its benefit ex ante by engaging in prospective learning, that is, by trying to predict the amount of information they will receive.
PROSPECT aims to investigate experimentally whether individuals are able to correctly assess the benefits of future information acquisition, and to use this information proactively when making dynamic choices. The main objective is to uncover some potential fundamental biases in dynamic decision-making, such as a tendency to acquire too little information and to under-experiment relative to the rational benchmark.
In Part 1, I aim to identify biases in prospective learning. The key question is whether individuals are able to correctly forecast the amount of information that a given real-life event reveals. Part 1a will study finance professionals’ ability to prospectively learn from market prices, and Part 1b will investigate whether the general population is able to extract information from past economic events to better predict future economic events.
Part 2 studies how individuals take prospective considerations into account when solving dynamic decision problems. In Parts 2a and 2b, I will characterize whether they experiment as much as economic models predict they should, and study two candidate micro-foundations for insufficient experimentation. Part 2c revisits an old idea in behavioral economics, according to which prospective thinking is key to achieving self-control.
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Keywords
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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91128 PALAISEAU CEDEX
France
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