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Flipping a coin: evidence from university applications
[journal article]
Abstract We empirically investigate the possibility that a decision maker prefers to avoid making a decision and instead delegates it to an external device, e.g., a coin flip. A large data set from the centralized clearinghouse for university admissions in Germany shows a choice pattern of applicants that is... view more
We empirically investigate the possibility that a decision maker prefers to avoid making a decision and instead delegates it to an external device, e.g., a coin flip. A large data set from the centralized clearinghouse for university admissions in Germany shows a choice pattern of applicants that is consistent with coin flipping and that entails substantial consequences for the matching outcome. In a series of experiments capturing the relevant features of university choice, participants often choose lotteries between allocations rather than certain allocations. This contradicts most theories of choice such as expected utility. A survey among university applicants links their choices to the experiments and confirms that the choice of random allocations is intentional.... view less
Classification
Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Economics
Free Keywords
individual decision making; matching markets; preference for randomization; university admissions
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
Page/Pages
p. 240-250
Journal
Journal of Public Economics (2018) 167
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/10419/209666
ISSN
1879-2316
Status
Postprint; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0