Listing Specs: The Effect of Framing Attributes on Choice

• Authors: Simone Galperti and Francesco Cerigioni.
• BSE Working Paper: 1247 | April 21
• Keywords: Framing , attribute , order , multi-attribute choice , primacy , recency , emphasis
• JEL codes: D01, D11, D90
• Framing
• attribute
• order
• multi-attribute choice
• primacy
• recency
• emphasis

Consistent evidence across important domains shows that people’s decisions can depend on the order or emphasis with which the attributes of the available options are presented to them. We introduce the first model of such framing effects, which we characterize in terms of observable behavior. We apply the model to study how strategic use of attribute framing affects competition in markets and outcomes of negotiations. We extend the model to stochastic-choice frameworks, which are often used in practice. We explain how it can be embedded into the standard rational-inattention framework to link our attribute framing with previously studied list-order effects.