Choice by rejection

Bhavook Bhardwaj and Kriti Manocha

Journal of Mathematical Economics, 2025, vol. 120, issue C

Abstract: This paper introduces a model of decision making that formalizes the idea of rejection behavior using binary relations. We propose a two-stage choice procedure where a decision maker in the first stage rejects the minimal alternatives from any decision problem, resulting in a new type of consideration set—the rejection filter. In the second stage, the decision maker maximizes possibly a different binary relation to choose a unique alternative. We provide an axiomatic foundation of the rejection filter and the two-stage procedure. Next, we relate our findings to the existing literature and show that our model provides a novel explanation for the two-compromise and two-decoy effects.

Keywords: Two-stage choice; Rejection; Bounded rationality; Revealed preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D0 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:mateco:v:120:y:2025:i:c:s0304406825000849

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmateco.2025.103167

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