Other models of dynamic choice

In the preceding chapters I have been preoccupied with establishing that resolute choice provides a pragmatically defensible solution to a very specific problem, namely, the problem of dynamic consistency that confronts an agent whose methods of evaluation cannot be reconciled with the standard expected utility approach. To this end, I have refrained from saying much about the connection between this line of reasoning and other analyses of dynamic choice, except insofar as they have a direct bearing on the thesis I have sought to defend. However, quite a number of significant contributions have been made to the subject of dynamic choice. Although I will not attempt anything like a comprehensive survey, I do want to say something in particular about those works that have helped to shape my own thinking.

Strotz's article and related literature

In Chapter 9, I discussed Strotz's seminal article in terms of the distinction it makes between myopic and sophisticated choice. His discussion of alternative ways of dealing with dynamic inconsistency is revealing, however, in another respect. The technical portions of the article are preoccupied in large part with a special case of dynamic inconsistency, one that can arise when an agent overvalues consumption in the near future relative to consumption in the more distant future.