19 Mar
2015
External validity of prospect theory: Experimental estimates vs. evidence from football betting
In this paper, we test whether the prospect theory parameters estimated from laboratory experiments correspond to behavior in betting markets. Using Czech sports betting data, we estimate the functional forms commonly used for experimental validation of prospect theory. We find that the data are best fitted if the representative bettor is risk-loving and has a close to linear weighting function. In addition to that, we show that the traditional inverse S-shaped weighting function cannot explain the observed price data, even if bettors may differ in their risk attitudes. Therefore, the observed betting behavior represents an important deviation from the prospect theory parameterization derived in laboratory experiments.