Title: Seeking a realistic way of individual decision making

Authors: Yasumi Matsumoto

Addresses: Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic; School of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract: In this paper, we try to introduce a realistic way of individual decision making based on the Japanese way of thinking, which may make up for the defect of today|s popular decision-making methods that heavily depend on the logic of the Western way of thinking, typically shown in Arrow|s impossibility theorem. The presented way of individual decision making is realistic because it follows people|s actual choice procedure; it is also a promising way in the reconsideration of Arrow|s framework and the result from a different direction. We compare the Western and the Japanese ways of thinking in detail in this paper because the sharp difference between them is expected to give the reader new hints for the creative development of decision-making methods.

Keywords: Arrow|s general possibility theorem; individual preference relations; collective choice theory; dynamic decision making; Western thinking; Japanese thinking; Japan.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2007.013697

Global Business and Economics Review, 2007 Vol.9 No.2/3, pp.126 - 150

Published online: 22 May 2007 *

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