Editing Rational choice model (section)

==Benefits==
The rational choice approach allows preferences to be represented as real-valued utility functions. Economic decision making then becomes a problem of maximizing this [[utility function]], subject to constraints (e.g. a budget). This has many advantages. It provides a compact theory that makes empirical predictions with a relatively sparse model – just a description of the agent's objectives and constraints. Furthermore, [[optimization theory]] is a well-developed field of mathematics. These two factors make rational choice models tractable compared to other approaches to choice. Most importantly, this approach is strikingly general. It has been used to analyze not only personal and household choices about
traditional economic matters like consumption and savings, but also choices about education, marriage, child-bearing, migration, crime and so on, as well as business decisions about output, investment, hiring, entry, exit, etc. with varying degrees of success.

In the field of political science rational choice theory has been used to help predict human decision making and model for the future; therefore it is useful in creating effective public policy, and enables the government to develop solutions quickly and efficiently.

Despite the empirical shortcomings of rational choice theory, the flexibility and tractability of rational choice models (and the lack of equally powerful alternatives) lead to them still being widely used.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Milgrom|first1=Paul|last2=Levin|first2=Jonathan|title=Introduction to Choice Theory|url=https://web.stanford.edu/~jdlevin/Econ%20202/Choice%20Theory.pdf|website=web.stanford.edu|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=2015-03-03}}</ref>