arXiv 17 Aug 2026 · Econometrics
arXiv:2608.16708 · PDF · Extracted main text
This paper analyzes when choice probabilities reveal rankings of deterministic utility indices in semiparametric discrete choice models. It begins with binary choice, where quantile thresholds guarantee ranking recovery, and shows that such thresholds can arise either from behavioral departures from utility maximization (e.g., limited attention) under exchangeable unobservables, or from non-exchangeable unobservables under standard utility maximization. These behavioral and distributional routes are then extended to multinomial choice. Under limited attention, balance restrictions on attention probabilities yield global linear ranking partitions which are robust to the distribution of unobservables and, given sufficiently rich joint variation in the differences of utility indices, are also necessary. Absent the required attention restrictions, opposite rankings can produce overlapping probability images. Under non-exchangeable unobservables, a comparable distribution-uniform partition generally need not exist. Holding the distribution fixed, however, ranking recovery remains possible via an injective nonlinear map from normalized utility differences to choice probabilities under both behavioral and distributional extensions. Together, the results distinguish distribution-robust global ranking partitions from ranking recovery with a fixed distribution of unobservables and clarify the limits of extending binary quantile restrictions to multinomial choice.
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The works this paper leans on most, across its whole bibliography — not restricted to papers in our corpus. Ranked by composite intensity, which combines how often a work is mentioned, how many sections mention it, and how much of that falls in the main text rather than the appendix.
| Reference | Intensity | Mentions | Sections | Main text | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manski, Charles F (1975) Maximum Score Estimation of the Stochastic Utility Model of Choice | 1.000 | 26 | 4 | 100% |
| 2 | Manski, Charles F (1988) Identification of Binary Response Models | 0.874 | 7 | 2 | 100% |
| 3 | Manski, Charles F (1985) Semiparametric Analysis of Discrete Response: Asymptotic Properties of the Maximum Score Estimator | 0.874 | 6 | 2 | 100% |
| 4 | Apesteguia, Jose and Ballester, Miguel A. and Lu, Jie (2017) Single-Crossing Random Utility Models | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 5 | Barseghyan, Levon and Molinari, Francesca and Thirkettle, Matthew (2019) Discrete Choice under Risk with Limited Consideration | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 6 | Manzini, Paola and Mariotti, Marco (2014) Stochastic Choice and Consideration Sets | 0.644 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| 7 | Fox, Jeremy T (2007) Semiparametric Estimation of Multinomial Discrete-Choice Models Using a Subset of Choices | 0.585 | 3 | 1 | 100% |
| 8 | Barseghyan, Levon and Molinari, Francesca and Thirkettle, Matthew (2021) Discrete Choice under Risk with Limited Consideration | 0.511 | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| 9 | Goeree, Jacob K. and Holt, Charles A. and Palfrey, Thomas R (2005) Regular Quantal Response Equilibrium | 0.511 | 2 | 1 | 100% |
| 10 | Aguiar, Victor H. and Boccardi, Maria Jose and Kashaev, Nail and Kim… (2023) Random Utility and Limited Consideration | 0.405 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Showing the top 10 of 21 scored citations.