Title: Values in consumer choice: do they matter?

Authors: Salman Ahmed Shaikh

Addresses: Faculty of Economics, National University of Malaysia, 4th Floor, 43650, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: Mathematical tractability has restricted economic analysis of consumer behaviour within a confined boundary of certain axioms. Often, these axioms are found to be empirically false; even more importantly, they and their analytical framework are incapable of explaining economic choices in environment goods, public goods and social choice. Studies in behavioural finance have also documented information processing incapacities and biases that challenge some of the rationality assumptions. In this study, we collect primary data from 250 respondents to investigate whether preferences are amenable and whether preferences take account of effects on others. The evidence supports that preferences are amenable; and using non-parametric tests of independence, we also establish that the respondents' values are independent of income and age.

Keywords: consumer behaviour; rationality; utility maximisation; values; preferences.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPEE.2017.085588

International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 2017 Vol.8 No.2, pp.130 - 140

Received: 03 Sep 2016
Accepted: 16 Apr 2017
Published online: 31 Jul 2017 *

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