Identifying Behavioral Types

TL;DR

This paper establishes conditions under which the distribution of unobserved behavioral types can be identified from aggregate choice data, highlighting the importance of behavioral heterogeneity and matrix properties.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical characterization of necessary and sufficient conditions for identifying behavioral types from aggregate choices using minimal prior knowledge.

Findings

Identification depends on sufficient behavioral heterogeneity.

Characterized through combinatorial matching conditions.

Algebraic properties of choice matrices are crucial.

Abstract

We study identification in models of aggregate choice generated by unobserved behavioral types. An analyst observes only aggregate choice behavior, while the population distribution of types and their type-level choice patterns are latent. Assuming only minimal and purely qualitative prior knowledge of the process generating type-level choice probabilities, we characterize necessary and sufficient conditions for identifiability. Identification obtains if and only if the data exhibit sufficient cross-type behavioral heterogeneity, which we characterize equivalently through combinatorial matching conditions between types and alternatives, and through algebraic properties of the matrices mapping type-level to aggregate choice behavior.