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What is partial ambiguity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2021

Loïc Berger Open the ORCID record for Loïc Berger [Opens in a new window]
Loïc Berger*
Affiliation:
CNRS, IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, UMR 9221– LEM, 3 rue de la Digue, F-59000 Lille, France; and Bocconi University, RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment (EIEE), and Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Italy
*
Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

This paper reflects on the notion of partial ambiguity. Using a framework decomposing ambiguity into distinct layers of analysis, among which are risk and model uncertainty, and allowing for different attitudes toward these layers, I show that partial ambiguity may prove less desirable than full ambiguity, even under ambiguity aversion. This observation poses difficulties for interpreting the notion of partial ambiguity in relation to the partial information available to determine the potential compositions of an ambiguous urn. Two Ellsberg-style thought experiments are described to challenge the meaning of partial ambiguity further, and an alternative interpretation, based on a more ambiguous relation, is discussed.

Keywords

Ambiguitymodel uncertaintysmooth ambiguity aversionEllsberg paradoxD81
Type
Article
Information
Economics & Philosophy , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , July 2022 , pp. 206 - 220
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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