Revealed Default Under Choice Overload

Abstract

Empirical and experimental studies suggest that a decision maker can remain with their default option even when preferred alternatives are available, yet standard choice data may not record which option is the default. Existing default-based models often assume that the default option is observed. In contrast, I study a decision maker subject to status quo bias and choice overload and illustrate how one can identify both the decision maker's default and preference from the observed behavior. This paper shows that anomalous choice behavior may arise from a latent default, a possibility largely overlooked in studies of standard choice data.