Mental accounting matters

摘要: Mental accounting is the set of cognitive operations used by individuals and households to organize, evaluate, keep track financial activities. Making use research on this topic over past decade, paper summarizes current state our knowledge about how people engage in mental Three components receive most attention. This first captures outcomes are perceived experienced, decisions made subsequently evaluated. The system provides inputs be both ex ante post cost–benefit analyses. A second component involves assignment activities specific accounts. Both sources uses funds labeled real as well systems. Expenditures grouped into categories (housing, food, etc.) spending sometimes constrained implicit or explicit budgets. third concerns frequency with which accounts evaluated ‘choice bracketing’. Accounts can balanced daily, weekly, yearly, so on, defined narrowly broadly. Each violates economic principle fungibility. As a result, influences choice, that is, it matters. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.