Pecchenino, Rowena A. (2011) Preferences, Choice, Goal Attainment, Satisfaction: That’s Life? Journal of Socio-Economics, 40 (3). pp. 237-241. ISSN 1053-5357

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Abstract

We make choices to achieve an objective. The objective is defined by an individual’s preferences. Subject to constraints, the objective is approached or achieved. Is this a good characterization of life? To answer this question we weaken one of the most basic assumptions of economics: individuals know their preferences. Instead we assume that an individual’s preferences are shaped and reshaped by his environment, experiences, expectations, and by exogenous events. In this model of individual self-discovery, preferences emerge, evolve, and change. These redefinitions change the future course of the individual’s life and reinterpret his past. They characterize a life lived.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	http://economics.nuim.ie/research/ http://repec.org/
Keywords:	Identity; Preferences; Choice; Life; Working Paper N205-10;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics, Finance and Accounting
Item ID:	1883
Depositing User:	Ms Sandra Doherty
Date Deposited:	15 Mar 2010 10:55
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Socio-Economics
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	No
URI:	Publisher Publisher Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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