Collaborative Research in Experimental Studies of Choice    Behavior in the Presence of Incomplete Information
{'Code': '04050100', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'SBE', 'LongName': 'Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'SES', 'LongName': 'Divn Of Social and Economic Sciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Robin A. Cantor', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
This project continues a series of fascinating experiments in four              important areas of economic behavior:  1) consumer choice between               alternatives in which risk is inherent, 2) the output decisions of              firms when the number of competing firms is very small, 3) welfare and          income distribution, and 4) labor supply decisions made by individuals          choosing between work time and leisure.                                                                                                                         The first is a topic which has occupied the attention of economists             and other social scientists for a long time.  Of particular interest            is the observation that human beings seem to be risk averse in some             situations and risk loving in others.  For instance, people avoid risk          in some economic situations and even pay insurance premiums so as not           to incur losses in income.  In other situations people gamble and take          risks.  This seeming paradox is very difficult to explain with                  existing theories of utility maximization.  This project examines two           possible unifying theories, namely prospect theory and expected                 utility theory, which can incorporate both types of behavior.                                                                                                   Many industries consist of a very small number of firms.  The                   automobile industry is an example, and some industries can be                   realistically modeled by assuming only two competing firms.  They are           clearly not monopolists, but through their output decisions they each           can affect the final price of their products.  The second part of this          research analyzes the fundamental nature of supply decisions and                profit making in the context of a duopoly.                                                                                                                      The focus of the third topic is the effects of guaranteed income                programs on labor supply.  Past work has indicated that a high level            of unearned income does provide a disincentive to participate in the            labor force.  However, the dynamics of that decision process have yet           to be explored.  This project analyzes the so called "welfare trap"             hypothesis by examining the relationship of systematic shifts in                preferences to varying levels of unearned income in previous periods.           Also studied is the distribution of earnings and inequality of incomes          across individuals in an economy.                                                                                                                               Finally, this project continues past work on the choice between time            spent earning income and time spent in leisure.  The experimental               subjects face varying wage levels, time constraints, and desired                income levels, and respond with labor force participation decisions.            Of particular focus are labor supply decisions when the income level            is high.                                                                                                                                                        This project continues the investigators' experiments using both                humans and animals as subjects.  For nearly a decade they have shown            that in correctly designed experiments, animals (typically rats and             pigeons) will respond to incentives as predicted by economic theory.            They have also replicated many experiments by other researchers using           humans as subjects, and have amassed an astonishing amount of evidence          wherein the results of work based on the behavior of humans can be              duplicated by animals in the laboratory.                                                                                                                        This research is done in collaboration with Professor John Kagel of             the University of Houston.
{'FirstName': 'Raymond', 'LastName': 'Battalio', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'C', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Raymond C Battalio', 'EmailAddress': 'r-batallio@tamu.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000339910', 'StartDate': '07/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Texas A&M Research Foundation', 'CityName': 'COLLEGE STATION', 'ZipCode': '778454375', 'PhoneNumber': '9798626777', 'StreetAddress': '400 HARVEY MITCHELL PKWY S STE 3', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Texas', 'StateCode': 'TX', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '10', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'TX10', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'EQH8NQ4AXFT7', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'TEXAS A & M RESEARCH FOUNDATION', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '132000', 'Text': 'Economics'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8708402.xml'}