CEU Economic Seminar Series: Implicit Preferences

We show how simple decisions can, by themselves, reveal two layers of preference. Consider a hiring manager who always chooses a woman over a man with the same qualifications, but always chooses the man if their qualifications differ. Intuitively, these intransitive choices reveal an explicit preference for women, but an implicit preference for men. We formalize this intuition, provide underlying psychological foundations, and show how to apply it to diverse behavioral data.