Learning to wait: A laboratory investigation
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Abstract
Human subjects decide when to sink a fixed cost C to seize an irreversible investment opportunity whose value V is governed by Brownian motion. The optimal policy is to invest when V first crosses a threshold V* = (1 + w*) C, where the wait option premium w* depends on drift, volatility, and expiration hazard parameters. Subjects in the Low w* treatment on average invest at values quite close to optimum. Subjects in the two Medium and the High w* treatments invested at values below optimum, but with the predicted ordering, and values approached the optimum by the last block of 20 periods.
Suggested Citation
Oprea, R., Friedman, D., and Anderson, S.T., 2009, Learning to wait: A laboratory investigation: Review of Economic Studies, v. 76, no. 3, p. 1103-1124, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00543.x.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Learning to wait: A laboratory investigation |
| Series title | Review of Economic Studies |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00543.x |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Oxford Academic |
| Contributing office(s) | Eastern Energy Resources Science Center |
| Description | 22 p. |
| First page | 1103 |
| Last page | 1124 |