Theory of Decision Under Uncertainty

‘This is a fantastic book. It presents an intelligent, rigorous, and thought-provoking treatment of the theory of choice under uncertainty. The combination of philosophical and mathematical approaches is a treat. Graduate students and professional economists alike have much to learn from this book.’ Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ‘This is a beautifully written book that I recommend to anyone who is interested in understanding the ‘what,’ ‘how,’ and ‘why’ of decision theory. The balance between conceptual issues, formalism, and philosophical underpinnings is unique. It will become a standard reference and text.’ Larry Epstein, Boston University ‘With his seminal works, Itzhak Gilboa is one of the leading figures in the ‘neoclassical’ decision theory that in the past 20 years has considerably expanded the scope of the classical theory pioneered by de Finetti, Ramsey, Savage, and von Neumann. This book provides a superb and much-needed introduction to this exciting research area.’ Massimo Marinacci, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy ‘At the heart of most economic analysis is a description of how individuals make decisions. There have been fundamental advances in our understanding of decision making in recent years, and this book provides an extremely accessible explanation of the current state of the field. Perhaps more importantly, it lays out the conceptual underpinnings of decision theory: why the various assumptions in modeling decision making are made and how they affect economic predictions.’ Andrew Postlewaite, University of Pennsylvania ‘Expected utility theory underlies most of statistics, economics, and finance. But are utility functions and probabilities all that we need to formulate wise decisions? And where do utility functions and probabilities come from? Written by the distinguished creator of new decision theories Itzhak Gilboa, Decision Theory under Uncertainty is a beautifully written critical account of decision theory that answers these and other important questions. Gilboa’s work opens doors for both theorists and applied workers.’ Thomas Sargent, New York University ‘[Gilboa] provides a textbook, but mathematically sophisticated, treatment of the recent developments in Choquet expected utility theory, prospect theory, and maxmin expected utility theory.’ History of Economic Thought and Policy “This is a fantastic book. It presents an intelligent, rigorous, and thought-provoking treatment of the theory of choice under uncertainty. The combination of philosophical and mathematical approaches is a treat. Graduate students and professional economists alike have much to learn from this book.” - Daron Acemoglu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology “This is a beautifully written book that I recommend to anyone who is interested in understanding the ‘what,’ ‘how,’ and ‘why’ of decision theory. The balance between conceptual issues, formalism, and philosophical underpinnings is unique. It will become a standard reference and text.” - Larry Epstein, Boston University “With his seminal works, Itzhak Gilboa is one of the leading figures in the ‘neoclassical’ decision theory that in the past 20 years has considerably expanded the scope of the classical theory pioneered by de Finetti, Ramsey, Savage, and von Neumann. This book provides a superb and much-needed introduction to this exciting research area.” - Massimo Marinacci, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy “At the heart of most economic analysis is a description of how individuals make decisions. There have been fundamental advances in our understanding of decision making in recent years, and this book provides an extremely accessible explanation of the current state of the field. Perhaps more importantly, it lays out the conceptual underpinnings of decision theory: why the various assumptions in modeling decision making are made and how they affect economic predictions.” - Andrew Postlewaite, University of Pennsylvania “Expected utility theory underlies most of statistics, economics, and finance. But are utility functions and probabilities all that we need to formulate wise decisions? And where do utility functions and probabilities come from? Written by the distinguished creator of new decision theories Itzhak Gilboa, Theory of Decision under Uncertainty is a beautifully written critical account of decision theory that answers these and other important questions. Gilboa’s work opens doors for both theorists and applied workers.” - Thomas Sargent, New York University

Itzhak Gilboa is Professor in the Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University, and Professor in the newly established Department of Economics and Decision Science, HEC, Paris. Earlier, he became a chaired professor at Northwestern University in 1992, visited at the Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania (1995-97), and was a Professor at Boston University (1997-99). Professor Gilboa also served as a Fellow at the Cowles Foundation at Yale University from 2001 to 2007. The recipient of a Sloan Fellowship, among other awards, he has published articles in the leading economic theory journals, primarily on decision under uncertainty. Professor Gilboa coauthored A Theory of Case-Based Decisions with David Schmeidler (Cambridge University Press, 2001). He received his Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University in 1987.