Welfare and behavior micro-analysis of economies with agents exhibiting non-classical preferences

Decerf B. Welfare and behavior micro-analysis of economies with agents exhibiting non-classical preferences. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2016.This dissertation in microeconomic theory is composed of four chapters. The first two chapters investigate two closely related normative questions. How can we compare different distributions of a multi-goods endowment among individuals that care for their relative situation? How can we compare the poverty in different income distributions when both the absolute and relative aspects of income matter? The outputs of these chapters are indicators that rank economic outcomes as a function of their adequacy with the principles of Pareto efficiency and equality of resources. The third chapter aims at comparing different mechanisms used for the allocation of economic resources among individuals holding private information, e.g. their preferences over these resources. This implies studying both the incentives these mechanisms provide and the properties of the allocations to which they lead. The chapter proposes a general criterion for comparing the performance of allocation mechanisms and applies it to stability comparisons of school choice mechanisms. The last chapter focuses on the strategic interactions between agents that are averse to ambiguity. It proposes a new interpretation for equilibria in ambiguous randomization strategies.Cotutelle entre l’Université catholique de Louvain et Universitaet Bielefeld