Economics and Business
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2775-9237 (Online)
Published: 09 January 2024
The Poverty from Stimulus in Financial Decision Making
Antony Ignatius K
Kollannur House, College Road
Download Full-Text Pdf
10.31014/aior.1992.07.01.555
Pages: 1-13
Keywords: Poverty of Stimulus, Financial Markets, Market Expertise, Cognitive Constraints, Bayesian-Learning, Market Dependence
Abstract
This paper delves into the concept of the poverty of stimulus in financial markets, particularly the supply and demand dynamic as proposed by Marshall, drawing parallels between linguistic theory and market behavior. Inspired by Chomsky's linguistic framework, we investigate the limitations of market participants' knowledge acquisition and decision-making processes. Utilizing real-world studies and academic research, we highlight instances where market participants exhibit cognitive constraints, suggesting the existence of innate structures guiding their understanding of market dynamics. We explore how market dependence, Bayesian learning, and information hierarchies align with the poverty of stimulus argument in markets, shedding light on the role of implicit knowledge in shaping trading strategies and outcomes. Through this interdisciplinary analysis, we advance the understanding of how market expertise evolves beyond simple supply and demand, acknowledging that market participants' abilities extend beyond the readily available stimulus, underscoring the presence of internal constraints within market behavior.
References
Barber, B. M., & Odean, T. (2000). Trading is hazardous to your wealth: The common stock investment performance of individual investors. The journal of Finance, 55(2), 773-806.
Berger, D., Chaboud, A., & Hjalmarsson, E. (2009). What drives volatility persistence in the foreign exchange market? Journal of Financial Economics, 94(2), 192-213.
Chaboud, A., Hjalmarsson, E., & Zikes, F. (2021). The evolution of price discovery in an electronic market. Journal of Banking & Finance, 130, 106171.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Persistent topics in linguistic theory. Diogenes, 13(51), 13-20.
Chomsky, N. (1981). On the representation of form and function.
Chomsky, Noam (1955). ‘Logical syntax and semantics: Their linguistic relevance,’ Language, 15th annual meeting of North East Linguistic Society (NELS 15), pp. 94–110. Amherst, MA:
Bayesian inference,’ Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 24, pp. 629–641
Chomsky, Noam (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, Noam (1968/1972/2006). Language and Mind. 1st edition 1968. Expanded 2nd edition version 1972, New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. 3rd edition 2006 with new preface and an additional 2004 chapter entitled ‘Biolinguistics and the human capacity.’ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chomsky, Noam (1971). Problems of knowledge and freedom. New York: Pantheon.
Crain, Stephen, and Cecile McKee (1985). ‘The acquisition of structural restrictions on anaphora,’ in Steve Berman, Jae-Woong Choe, and Joyce McDonough (eds), Proceedings of the
Grinblatt, M., & Keloharju, M. (2001). What makes investors trade? The journal of Finance, 56(2), 589-616.
Hume, David (1739). A treatise of human nature, Volume I. London: John Noon.
Piattelli-Palmarini, M. (1980). Language and learning: the debate between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky.
Piattelli-Palmarini, Massimo (1980). Language and learning: The debate between Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Pullum, Geoffrey K. (1989). ‘Formal linguistics meets the Boojum,’ Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol. 7, pp. 137–143.
Pullum, Geoffrey K., and Barbara C. Scholz (2002). ‘Empirical assessment of stimulus poverty arguments,’ The Linguistic Review, vol. 19, pp. 9–50.
Regier, Terry, and Susanne Gahl (2003). ‘Learning the unlearnable: The role of missing evidence,’ Cognition, vol. 93, pp. 147–155.
Tenenbaum, Joshua B., and Thomas L. Griffiths (2001). ‘Generalization, similarity, and
Tetlock, P. C. (2007). Giving content to investor sentiment: The role of media in the stock market. The Journal of finance, 62(3), 1139-1168. University of Massachusetts, GLSA. vol. 31, pp. 36–45.