About a week ago, I received e-mail asking if I would like to examine a book called You Are What You Choose for review on this blog. I decline more of these offers than I accept, but after reading the blurb and press release, I was intrigued, largely because so much of economics is viewed as "the science of choice." So Iasked them to go ahead and send it.
The book arrived yesterday, but I still haven't had a chance to look at it. Ms. Eclectic, a retired psychologist, took one look at it and grabbed it from me because it looked interesting. I don't know if/when I will get it back.
What intrigued me about it was that the authors, Scott de Marchi and James T. Hamilton, claim that they have identified traits that, inter alia, help explain why a person who is a gambler in one aspect of life will also be a gambler in others. This claim intrigued and puzzled me because I know that many, many people buy lottery tickets (or gamble in other ways) and also buy insurance; i.e., people are risk averse and gamblers at the same time. I am hoping that the authors will explain this in their book (or possibly with a guest posting here).
I am, of course, familiar with the classic 1948 article by Friedman and Savage that relies on a 3rd degree polynomial total-utility-of-wealth function for their explanation for the apparent contradiction [with diminishing marginal utility of wealth for declining wealth and increasing marginal utility of wealth for rising wealth]. Their explanation is clever, but I'm not completely sold on it. I'm looking forward to seeing whether this book has anything better to offer.