arXiv subjects

Natalia Lazzati

Publications and source records attributed to Natalia Lazzati.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Peer Effects in Consideration and Preferences

We develop a general model of discrete choice that incorporates peer effects in preferences and consideration sets. We characterize the equilibrium behavior and establish conditions under which all parts of the model can be recovered from a sequence of choices. We allow peers to affect preferences, consideration, or both. We show that these peer-effect mechanisms have different behavioral implications in the data. This allows us to recover the set and the type of connections between the agents in the network. We then use this information to recover each agent's preferences and consideration mechanisms. These nonparametric identification results allow for general forms of heterogeneity across agents and do not rely on the variation of either exogenous covariates or the set of available options (menus). We apply our results to model expansion decisions by tea chains and find evidence of limited consideration. We simulate counterfactual predictions and show how limited consideration slows market penetration and competition.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2026

Discrete Choice with Endogenous Peer Selection

We develop a continuous time discrete choice model of peer effects. The distinctive feature of the model is that agents might not consider all peers at the moment of making a decision. Instead, they select some of them on the basis of a mechanism that depends on recent choices. We characterize the equilibrium behavior and study the empirical content of the limited attention peer effect model. We allow changes in the choices of peers to affect both the set of peers to which the agent pays attention and her preferences over the alternatives. We exploit variation in choices together with variation in the size of the set of potential peers (or reference groups) to recover the preferences of the agents and the peer selection mechanisms. We apply our results to model expansion and contraction decisions by fast-food restaurants and find evidence of limited attention to actions of competitors.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2021

Peer Effects in Random Consideration Sets

We develop a dynamic model of discrete choice that incorporates peer effects into random consideration sets. We characterize the equilibrium behavior and study the empirical content of the model. In our setup, changes in the choices of friends affect the distribution of the consideration sets. We exploit this variation to recover the ranking of preferences, attention mechanisms, and network connections. These nonparametric identification results allow unrestricted heterogeneity across people and do not rely on the variation of either covariates or the set of available options. Our methodology leads to a maximum-likelihood estimator that performs well in simulations. We apply our results to an experimental dataset that has been designed to study the visual focus of attention.

econ.EM↗