English

Ordered Probabilistic Choice

Theoretical Economics 2025-07-10 v2

Abstract

We introduce a novel perspective by linking ordered probabilistic choice to copula theory, a mathematical framework for modeling dependencies in multivariate distributions. Each representation of ordered probabilistic choice behavior can be associated with a copula, enabling the analysis of representations through established results from copula theory. We provide functional forms to describe the "extremal" representations of an ordered probabilistic choice behavior and their distinctive structural properties. The resulting functional forms act as an "identification method" that uniquely generates heterogeneous choice types and their weights. These results provide valuable tools for analysts to identify micro-level behavioral heterogeneity from macro-level observable data.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2504.01227,
  title  = {Ordered Probabilistic Choice},
  author = {Christopher P. Chambers and Yusufcan Masatlioglu and Kemal Yildiz},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.01227},
  year   = {2025}
}