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How predictable : patterns of human economic behavior in the wild

Author(s)
Krumme, Katherine
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.
Advisor
Alex (Sandy) Pentland.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
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Abstract
Shopping is driven by needs (to eat, to socialize, to work), but it is also a driver of where we go. I examine the transaction records of 80 million customers and find that while our economic choices predict mobility patterns overall, at the small scale we transact unpredictably. In particular, we bundle together multiple store visits, and interleave the order in which we frequent those stores. Individual predictability also varies with income level. I end with a description of how merchant composition emerges in US cities, as seen through the lens of credit card swipes.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2010.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-41).
 
Date issued
2010
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62118
Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

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