An Economic Analysis of Expectations

Sarah M. Moore

Advisor: Peter J Boettke, PhD, Department of Economics

Committee Members: Peter T. Leeson, Virgil H. Storr, Ginny Choi

Online Location, Online
April 24, 2023, 12:00 PM to 02:30 PM

Abstract:

This dissertation centers around issues of expectations theory and how expectations may serve as informal and formal constraints in the decision-making process. I examine three key points: the Big Lick phenomena in the Tennessee Walking Horse show world, Lachmannian expectations concerning adversities facing minority populations, and a more theoretical and abstract approach to expectations with the role animal spirits play in the marketplace. This dissertation finds that, whether informal or formal, expectations play a critical role in an acting agent's decision matrix, both in private and public market arrangements.