@article{ref1,
title="What makes a rule complex?",
journal="American economic review",
year="2020",
author="Oprea, Ryan",
volume="110",
number="12",
pages="3913-3951",
abstract="We study the complexity of rules by paying experimental subjects to implement a series of algorithms and then eliciting their willingness-to-pay to avoid implementing them again in the future. The design allows us to examine hypotheses from the theoretical &quot;automata&quot; literature about the characteristics of rules that generate complexity costs. We find substantial aversion to complexity and a number of regularities in the characteristics of rules that make them complex and costly for subjects. Experience with a rule, the way a rule is represented, and the context in which a rule is implemented (mentally versus physically) also influence complexity.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0002-8282",
doi="10.1257/aer.20191717",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.20191717"
}