Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110318 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1474
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
We provide an in-depth theoretical discussion about the differences between attitudes and perceptions, as well as an empirical exercise to analyze its effects. This discussion is of importance, as the large majority of papers considering attitudinal latent variables, just consider those as attributes affecting directly the utility of a certain alternative while systematic taste variations are rarely taken into account and perceptions are normally completely ignored. The results of our case study show that perceptions may indeed affect the decision making process and that they are able to capture a significant part of the variability that is normally explained by alternative specific constants. In the same line, our results indicate that attitudes may be a reason for systematic taste variations, and that a proper categorization of the latent variables, in accordance with the underlying theory, may outperform the customary assumption of linearity.
Subjects: 
Hybrid Discrete Choice Modelling
Latent Variables
Attitudes
Perceptions
JEL: 
C50
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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