Camels, Dummy, and the Importance of Context

Etienne Billette de Villemeur and Justin Leroux
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Justin Leroux: HEC Montréal - HEC Montréal

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Abstract: Economic design problems are more successful in garnering support from practitioners when the axioms are relevant to the practical context. We use the well-known Dummy axiom as a concentrated example of several ways in which axioms can fail to be meaningful in practice. We then describe two channels through which characterization results using axioms that are not relevant to a specific context can undermine the axiomatic program, both from an internal (theoretical) standpoint and from its relationship with the practical world. Yet, a great deal of intellectual stimulation can be found in disciplining ourselves to be guided by context, despite the theorist's traditional leaning towards universality.

Date: 2019-11-16
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Published in Jean-François Laslier (dir.); Hervé Moulin (dir.); Remzi Sanver (dir.); William S. Zwicker (dir.). The Future of Economic Design, Springer, pp.181-187, 2019, ⟨10.1007/978-3-030-18050-8_25⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02513206

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-18050-8_25

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