DO SUNK COSTS MATTER?

C-Tier
Journal: Economic Inquiry
Year: 2010
Volume: 48
Issue: 2
Pages: 323-336

Score contribution per author:

0.335 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

That sunk costs are not relevant to rational decision making is often presented as one of the basic principles of economics. When people are influenced by sunk costs in their decision making, they are said to be committing the “sunk cost fallacy.” Contrary to conventional wisdom, we argue that in a broad range of situations, it is rational for people to condition behavior on sunk costs because of informational content, reputational concerns, or financial and time constraints. Once all the elements of the decision‐making environment are taken into account, reacting to sunk costs can often be understood as rational behavior. (JEL D0, D01, D8, D81, D83, D9, D90)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:ecinqu:v:48:y:2010:i:2:p:323-336
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26