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The contradiction is not between saying two different things about different time horizons, but saying one thing and doing another. It matters little what you

The contradiction is not between saying two different things about different time horizons, but saying one thing and doing another. It matters little what you someone says with their words if they say the opposite with their money - if in practice someone is seeking the lowest acceptable prices, then their "revealed preference", to use the technical term, is that they're actually preferring a world where that shop is run by a PE firm, as they're actively helping make that world happen. And sure, their stated preference may well be that a world not owned entirely by one PE firm, but really, who cares about the stated preference that doesn't get reflected in acts in the real world? Those are just empty, misleading lies if the actual choices show the opposite. It's like saying "I prefer a world where I will lose weight" while buying a 12-pack of donuts for lunch.

ethanbond 3y ago
That term isn’t “the” technical term. It’s a term from economics to try to explain apparently contradictory behaviors. Gee wiz, what a great explanation! “People just don’t actually prefer the things they say they prefer, even when they have far better reasons to prefer their stated preference over their revealed preference.” Now here’s the thing, when you actually ask someone actually amidst buying the dozen donuts if they’d prefer to have the donuts or to lose weight, they’ll tell you “to buy the donuts.” If you remind them of their goal to lose weight, they’ll shrug and say “yeah but that starts tomorrow,” or “oh well,” or “I’ll skip dinner later.” Why? Because it’s not actually the case they are behaving against their preferences. It’s that their preferences are alternating as different rewards approach on different time horizons. “Revealed vs stated preferences” is the laziest frictionless spherical cow explanation of human behavior ever crafted.
- ethanbond 3y ago
  Too late to edit, but I’ll add: the revealed vs stated explanation is plenty useful for some things. A lot of times (especially in business) you don’t really care why someone behaves against their stated interests. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually an accurate description of what’s happening at the individual level.

ethanbond 3y ago

That term isn’t “the” technical term. It’s a term from economics to try to explain apparently contradictory behaviors. Gee wiz, what a great explanation! “People just don’t actually prefer the things they say they prefer, even when they have far better reasons to prefer their stated preference over their revealed preference.” Now here’s the thing, when you actually ask someone actually amidst buying the dozen donuts if they’d prefer to have the donuts or to lose weight, they’ll tell you “to buy the donuts.” If you remind them of their goal to lose weight, they’ll shrug and say “yeah but that starts tomorrow,” or “oh well,” or “I’ll skip dinner later.” Why? Because it’s not actually the case they are behaving against their preferences. It’s that their preferences are alternating as different rewards approach on different time horizons. “Revealed vs stated preferences” is the laziest frictionless spherical cow explanation of human behavior ever crafted.

ethanbond 3y ago
Too late to edit, but I’ll add: the revealed vs stated explanation is plenty useful for some things. A lot of times (especially in business) you don’t really care why someone behaves against their stated interests. But that doesn’t mean it’s actually an accurate description of what’s happening at the individual level.