Decision Costs Research Articles

Estimating the Incremental Cost Per QALY Produced by the Spanish NHS: A Fixed-Effect Econometric Approach.

Knowing the health opportunity costs of funding decisions is crucial to assess whether the health gains associated with new interventions are larger than the health losses imposed by the displacement of resources. Empirical estimates based on the effect of health spending on health outcomes have been proposed in several countries, including Spain, as a proxy to capture these opportunity costs. However, there is a need to regularly update existing health opportunity cost estimates and to explore the role of omitted variable bias in these estimations. The aim of this paper is to provide an updated and refined estimate of the causal impact of health spending on health in Spain that can be translated into an estimate of the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year produced by the Spanish national health system. We applied fixed-effect models using data for 17 Spanish regions from 2002 until 2022 to estimate the impact of public health spending on health outcomes and explored the extent of omitted variable bias. Changes in these estimates over time were assessed and alternative specifications were tested. Based on fixed-effect models with control variables, the estimated spending elasticity was 0.061, which translated into an incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year of approximately €34,000. The bias-corrected elasticity was 0.075, with a corresponding incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year of €27,000. We found that the estimated impact of spending on health decreases when recent years of data are added, and that the extent of omitted variable bias appears to increase, particularly when adding the COVID-19 pandemic period. This study provides an updated estimation of the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year produced by the Spanish national health system. The estimates provided can be easily updatable as new data become accessible, and the methods applied might be transferable to other settings with similar available data.

Kahneman's tryst with reasonableness: a tease unfulfilled?

Abstract Kahneman's criticism of neoclassical rationality was central to his research programme. He argued that rationality understood as temporal consistency among preferences and beliefs is inapt as a descriptive and prescriptive standard of decision-making. Descriptively, consistency ignores high decision costs and biases, such as framing effects. Prescriptively, it is problematic since it neglects the processual nature of choice and the crucial role of regret. Instead, Kahneman argued in favour of using reasonableness as a standard, though he did not fully develop the concept in his work.

Decision cost hypersensitivity underlies Huntington's disease apathy.

The neuropsychiatric syndrome of apathy is now recognized to be a common and disabling condition in Huntington's disease (HD). However, the mechanisms underlying it are poorly understood. One way to investigate apathy is to utilise a theoretical framework of normal motivated behaviour, to determine where breakdown has occurred in people with this behavioural disruption. A fundamental computation underlying motivated, goal-directed behaviour across species is weighing up the costs and rewards associated with actions. Here, we asked whether people with apathy are more sensitive to costs of actions (physical effort and time delay), less sensitive to rewarding outcomes, or both. Based on the unique anatomical substrates associated with HD pathology, we hypothesised that a general hypersensitivity to costs would underpin HD apathy. Genetically confirmed carriers of the expanded Huntingtin gene (premanifest to mild motor manifest disease (n=53) were compared to healthy controls (n = 38). Participants performed a physical effort-based decision-making task (Apple Gathering Task) and a delay discounting task (Money Choice Questionnaire). Choice data was analysed using linear regression and drift diffusion models that also accounted for the time taken to make decisions. Apathetic people with HD accepted fewer offers overall on the Apple Gathering Task, specifically driven by increased sensitivity to physical effort costs, and not explained by motor severity, mood, cognition, or medication. Drift diffusion modelling provided further evidence of effort hypersensitivity, with apathy associated with a faster drift rate towards rejecting offers as a function of varying effort. Increased delay sensitivity was also associated with apathy, both when analysing raw choice and also drift rate, where there was moderate evidence of HD apathy drifting faster towards the immediately available (low cost) option. Furthermore, the effort and delay sensitivity parameters from these tasks were positively correlated. The results demonstrate a clear mechanism for apathy in HD, cost hypersensitivity, which manifests in both the effort and time costs associated with actions towards rewarding goals. This suggests that HD pathology may cause a domain-general disruption of cost processing, which is distinct to apathy occurrence in other brain disorders, and may require different therapeutic approaches.

Welfare costs of suboptimal retiree decisions.

We make a novel investigation of welfare costs associated with various suboptimal decisions made by retirees, both analytically and numerically. We utilize a unique framework that incorporates recursive utility with housing, and also encompasses expected utility and recursive utility without housing as special cases. Our findings indicate that under-investment in stocks incurs lower welfare costs compared to an equivalent over-investment. Suboptimal allocations in bond holdings result in higher costs than similar misallocations in stocks. Choosing not to participate in the stock market is less detrimental than avoiding the bond market. Should retirees opt to simplify their decision-making by investing solely in one type of asset, it is less costly for them to invest exclusively in bonds. Overconsumption of housing is less costly than an equivalent underconsumption. Suboptimal consumption imposes the highest welfare cost. Decisions regarding consumption, housing, and savings are found to be more crucial than the choice of how to distribute liquid savings between stocks and bonds. Additionally, recursive utility model better captures retirees' preference for bonds over stocks than expected utility model. Our results, which are consistent across various parameter settings, provide valuable insights for academics and policymakers aiming to enhance retiree welfare.

Sequential three-way decision with automatic threshold learning for credit risk prediction

Machine learning algorithms treat credit risk prediction as a binary classification problem. However, two-way decisions with a single threshold force to make either a default or non-default decision may be inappropriate. To reduce the risk of decision errors, this study introduces three-way decisions and proposes a sequential three-way decision model with automatic threshold learning to evaluate credit risk. Initially, the model uses the loan amount and interest to determine the decision loss of the three-way decision, assigning distinct decision thresholds to different samples. Subsequently, the model employs decision cost and information gain to formulate an objective for threshold optimisation. Finally, the model continuously optimises the classification process by using the outcomes of certain decisions as supplementary information. In addition, to validate our model, we conduct comparative experiments with various methods on a real credit dataset from a Chinese bank. The results indicate that the model not only enhances classification performance across several metrics but also assists financial institutions in reducing decision error costs.

Implementasi Pengambilan Keputusan Taktis Melalui Analisis Biaya Relevan Untuk Meningkatkan Pendapatan (Studi Kasus: Pabrik Rumahan Roti Hangat Keliling di Kota Jambi)

The Mobile Warm Bread Home Factory is a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) that processes raw materials into finished products, namely warm bread. The factory produces 2,100 loaves of bread a day, with flavor variants such as chocolate, strawberry, coconut, green bean, srikaya, and messes. In the production process, the mobile hot bread home factory still uses gas oven production tools or machines, in the midst of the development of equipment or Machines that use electrical energy are electric ovens. The aim of this research is to analyze the application of relevant costs in decision making to continue or replace a gas oven with an electric oven. This research methodology uses descriptive qualitative, with data collection through in-depth interviews, observation and data analysis. Decision making will always be related to the future so business owners need to review these decisions. To help business owners make the right decisions, by choosing the best decision alternative among the available decision alternatives. The results of this analysis show that the most appropriate decision is to continue using a gas oven because it obtains the most relevant total results and benefits rather than replacing it with an electric oven.

What Makes a Smart Bank: The Case of Brde, a Last-Mile Subnational Development Bank in Brazil

Development banks are considered mission-oriented financial institutions that must act to fill gaps and market failures, supporting innovation with long-term financing in order to play a fundamental role in smoothing the risks associated with boom and bust cycles. . The existence and role of public development banks have been discussed for more than a century. Thus, this work proposes a case study with the analysis of the Subnational Development Bank - BRDE, in which there is a reference based on authors who discuss regional development and, subsequently, the case of BRDE, with the aim of describing the operation of a small bank in an emerging economy, its strengths and challenges. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that banks that have, at the same time, clarity of vision and mission and alignment of programs, flexibility to adjust to economic and social reality, solid financial results, robust governance attributes and autonomy - professional and collegial governance multilevel that increases the costs of both undue political pressure and bad credit decisions. From a financing point of view, the bank stands out for its technical capacity, which are critical but are important institutions to reinforce that its capillarity and knowledge of the context and local markets are useful for development. Thus, these banks provide financial instruments to expand financing at local and micro-regional levels, directly or through commercial banks and cooperatives. KEYWORDS: Regional development, banks, financial institutions, BRDE.

Contentious public finance: how entanglement shapes the costs of resisting elitist budgetary preferences

Entangled political economy views societal phenomena as featuring substantial interaction between economic and political entities, but questions have been raised about the conceptual properties of entanglement. The political economist Randall Holcombe has raised questions concerning the economic influences affecting uneven patterns of entanglement between entities. Drawing upon his own transaction costs-based framework of political stratification, Holcombe suggests that political elites incur relatively low transaction costs associated with bargaining over policies, whereas non-elites incur relatively high costs. This suggests that elites actively participate in policy design and implementation and can outmaneuver the non-elite public to externalize the costs of political decisions, yielding noticeable clustering effects within entangled network structures. This article seeks to build upon Holcombe’s insights, as well as the transaction cost politics of Charlotte Twight, illustrating how groups engaging in political processes attempt to manipulate transaction costs to secure favorable outcomes. Transaction cost manipulation by elites to secure advantages is commonly studied, but less so is how non-elitists succeed in adjusting the transaction costs of political exchanges to help prevent fiscal exploitation by elitists. The public finance case of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is used to illustrate how dynamic entanglements between elites and non-elites delivered institutional change better aligning with non-elite fiscal preferences.

Caesarean section on maternal request: a qualitative study of conflicts related to shared decision-making and person-centred care in Sweden

BackgroundToday, person-centred care is seen as a cornerstone of health policy and practice, but accommodating individual patient preferences can be challenging, for example involving caesarean section on maternal request (CSMR). The aim of this study was to explore Swedish health professionals’ perspectives on CSMR and analyse them with regard to potential conflicts that may arise from person-centred care, specifically in relation to shared decision-making.MethodsA qualitative study using both inductive and deductive content analysis was conducted based on semi-structured interviews. It was based on a purposeful sampling of 12 health professionals: seven obstetricians, three midwives and two neonatologists working at different hospitals in southern and central Sweden. The interviews were recorded either in a telephone call or in a video conference call, and audio files were deleted after transcription.ResultsIn the interviews, twelve types of expressions (sub-categories) of five types of conflicts (categories) between shared decision-making and CSMR emerged. Most health professionals agreed in principle that women have the right to decide over their own body, but did not believe this included the right to choose surgery without medical indications (patient autonomy). The health professionals also expressed that they had to consider not only the woman’s current preferences and health but also her future health, which could be negatively impacted by a CSMR (treatment quality and patient safety). Furthermore, the health professionals did not consider costs in the individual decision, but thought CSMR might lead to crowding-out effects (avoiding treatments that harm others). Although the health professionals emphasised that every CSMR request was addressed individually, they referred to different strategies for avoiding arbitrariness (equality and non-discrimination). Lastly, they described that CSMR entailed a multifaceted decision being individual yet collective, and the use of birth contracts in order to increase a woman’s sense of security (an uncomplicated decision-making process). ConclusionsThe complex landscape for handling CSMR in Sweden, arising from a restrictive approach centred on collective and standardised solutions alongside a simultaneous shift towards person-centred care and individual decision-making, was evident in the health professionals’ reasoning. Although most health professionals emphasised that the mode of delivery is ultimately a professional decision, they still strived towards shared decision-making through information and support. Given the different views on CSMR, it is of utmost importance for healthcare professionals and women to reach a consensus on how to address this issue and to discuss what patient autonomy and shared decision-making mean in this specific context.

EXPLORING Exploring the Influence of Brand Image and Education Costs on Parents' Decisions in Choosing a School: The Mediating Impact of Word of Mouth (WoM)

Word of Mouth (WoM) tends to be more trusted than direct promotion from the school. Parents tend to trust other people's real exp=eriences in choosing a school, which can strengthen a school's positive brand image. Through WoM, parents can get more in-depth information about various aspects of the school, including the quality of education, facilities, curriculum, and learning atmosphere. This research aims to investigate the mediating role of WoM in influencing brand image and educational costs on parents' decisions in choosing a school. Purposive sampling was used to determine research respondents totaling 43 parents at SMP Ma`arif 2 Ponorogo. Data were analyzed using path analysis with the PLS-SEM method. The research results show that WoM acts as a mediator which is insignificant on the brand image (β=0.094; ρ=0.101), but significant on the cost of education and parents' decisions in choosing a school (β=0.388; ρ=0.005). Apart from that, WoM also directly influences parents' decisions (β=0.540; ρ=0.000). These findings highlight the importance of recommendations and reviews from other parents in shaping parents' perceptions of a school, which impacts their decisions in choosing a school for their children. The practical implications of this research are that schools can improve their brand image and adjust their tuition fees to be more attractive to parents, while also strengthening WOM marketing strategies to improve parents' school choice decisions.

Economic hardship and the role of cost in childcare decisions: An exploratory study

The high cost of US childcare has become burdensome to most families with young children, yet little is known about how childcare costs shapes parental childcare decisions. This study addresses a critical gap in knowledge by examining how economic hardships shape parental childcare decisions, along with the individual and community characteristics associated with the influence of cost on childcare decisions. Guided by the accommodation model and family stress model, we used data from a statewide consumer survey in Iowa to conduct the first known study to examine associations between household constraints (i.e., economic hardships) and respondent reports that cost influenced their childcare decisions at least once in the previous year (i.e., systemic barriers to childcare). As hypothesized, each form of economic hardship was associated with increased odds of cost influencing childcare decisions. Our logistic regression demonstrated that every standard deviation increase in our financial stress scale resulted in a 110% increase in the odds of cost influence, while each additional experience of material hardship (out of 16) increased the odds of cost influence by 10%. Additionally, we identified demographic variations, with cost playing a more prominent role for people who were Hispanic/any race, unemployed, and were between the ages of 18- to 34-years old. Overall, findings demonstrate that economic hardships are constraints that, coupled with systemic barriers like cost, shape childcare decisions across demographic groups, communities, and income brackets. Findings also suggest the need for more public support to alleviate the costs of childcare among all families, such as expanding childcare subsidies or funding the provision of care, which may mitigate the risk of negative outcomes associated with economic hardship.

A tolerance index based non-cooperative behaviour managing method with minimum cost in social network group decision making

This paper introduces a novel consensus theoretical framework designed to effectively manage non-cooperative behaviour in social network group decision making (SNGDM). It addresses the challenge by considering both individuals’ willingness to adjust preferences and the associated costs of achieving consensus. To deal with this issue, the personalised individual semantics (PIS) model is employed to handle original evaluation matrices by converting linguistic terms into numerical values based on experts’ personalised opinions. Subsequently, a tolerance index (TI) is defined to reflect the willingness of experts to adjust their preferences. An improved minimum cost (MC) feedback model based on TI is established. The novelty of the proposed approach is that its integration of individual preference adjustment willingness and consensus efficiency, effectively preventing groupthink. In addition, a maximum group consensus degree optimisation model is proposed to detect non-cooperative behaviour of experts. To ensure an optimal solution for the minimum cost feedback model, a weight update method is proposed, considering the trust relationship between experts. A detailed analysis regarding the selection of tolerance thresholds to prevent over-penalisation of weights of non-collaborators is reported. Finally, comprehensive numerical and comparative analyses are presented to validate the proposed method.

A novel cost-sensitive three-way intuitionistic fuzzy large margin classifier

Three-way decision (3WD) has been widely applied in diverse fields in tackling uncertainty, particularly in classification domain. As a discriminative learning algorithm, Large Margin Distribution Machine (LDM) aims to maximize the inter-class margin by leveraging the marginal distribution of samples, which captures the underlying structure and achieves superior classification performance. However, existing LDMs still suffer from some inherent flaws, including: i) the neglect of fuzzy decision items, leading to the inadequate handling of uncertainty; ii) the utilization of a cost-insensitive mechanism, resulting in high misclassification costs; and iii) the disregard of sample credibility, contributing to the noise susceptibility. To address these limitations, we introduce the intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) and cost-sensitive 3WD (CS3WD), presenting an innovative model known as the CS3W-IFLMC model. The IF theory is employed to quantify sample confidence levels, augmenting noise suppression in our proposed model. Moreover, the integration of the CS3WD method effectively reduces the overall decision cost and further improves the handling of uncertainty in datasets. Consequently, the CS3W-IFLMC model demonstrates superior noise resilience and generalization performance. Our comparative experiments validate the efficacy of the proposed CS3W-IFLMC model in achieving robustness to noise while upholding a competitive classification performance.

The cost and climate impact of myopic investment decisions in the chemical industry

Rapid demand growth would double GHG emissions of fossil-based chemicals and plastics production by 2050. In contrast, recycling, biomass utilization, and electrification enable pathways to net-zero GHG emissions. Such pathways often compare the costs of fossil and renewable technologies based on the next 30 years. However, this assumption contrasts the timeframes of legislative periods and investors desiring fast returns, leading to myopic (i.e., short-term) investment decisions. Therefore, this study compares pathways based on long-term with myopic decision-making. While a 20-year foresight still achieves net zero by 2050, a 10-year foresight fails the net-zero target and increases cumulated GHG emission by 43%. Moreover, the chemical industry would invest +307 bn-USD (+3.2%) in additional fossil and, thus, potentially stranded assets. Therefore, industry and investors should account for the environmental and economic impacts of myopic decision-making and practice long-term decision-making to mitigate carbon lock-ins, stranded assets, and financial risks for investors.

The Perceived Influence of Supply Chain Decisions on Overall Business Profitability

The demand for supply chain decisions is unending and continuously demands that managers be well equipped to make rational and effective decisions cost effectively to enhance business performance. This research aims to investigate the perceived influence of tactical, operational and strategic supply chain decisions on overall business profitability within the context of Kurdistan’s real estate companies. This study contributes to the academic understanding of the role of supply chain decisions in real estate profitability, providing a foundation for further research in the field. 3 hypotheses linking tactical, operational and strategic supply chain decisions with overall business performance were formulated. A multiple regression model was estimated using 362 questionnaire observations collected from Kurdistan real estate companies’ supply chain managers, project managers, procurement officers, and executives involved in decision-making processes in Erbil. The findings demonstrated that tactical, operational and strategic supply chain decisions positively impact overall business performance. Of paramount importance are the findings denoting that tactical supply chain decisions insignificantly enhance overall business performance because of their short-term nature. The study concludes that understanding and effectively implementing tactical supply chain decisions can lead to a direct and significant impact on overall business profitability. To optimize tactical supply chain decisions to positively impact overall business profitability and ensure a competitive edge in the market, real estate managers can strategies encompassing the application of data-driven decision making, integrated supply chain planning, optimize inventory management, vendor and supplier collaboration, streamlined procurement processes, and efficient transportation and logistics methods.

A thousand reasons to hate e-learning: a comparative analysis of empirical data and theoretical considerations pertaining to dissatisfaction with e-learning

Purpose E-learning has become a polarizing issue. Some say that it enhances accessibility to education and some say that it hinders it. While the literature on the subject underscores the effectiveness of the pedagogical frameworks, strategies and distance learning technologies, the firsthand accounts of students, parents and practitioners challenge the validity of experts’ assessments. There is a gap between theory and practice and between the perceptions of providers and consumers of online learning. Following a period of lockdowns and a transition to online learning during the recent pandemic, the prevailing sentiment toward a distance mode of instruction became one of strong skepticism and negative bias. The aim of the study was to examine why e-learning has struggled to meet stakeholder expectations. Specifically, the study posed two research questions: 1. What are the reasons for dissatisfaction with online learning? 2. What are the implications for future research and practice? Design/methodology/approach The study used a mixed methods approach to examine the reasons behind negative perceptions of online learning by comparing the firsthand accounts posted on social media with the literature. To this end, n = 62,874 social media comments of secondary and postsecondary students, as well as parents, teachings staff and working professionals, covering the span of over 14 years (2008–2022), were collected and analyzed. Findings The study identified 28 themes that explain the stakeholder’s discontent with the online learning process and highlighted the importance of user-centric design. The analysis revealed that the perceived ineffectiveness of distance education stems from the failure to identify and address stakeholders’ needs and, more particularly, from the incongruence of instructional strategies, blindness to the cost of decisions related to instructional design, technology selection and insufficient levels of support. The findings also highlight the importance of user-centric design. Practical implications To address dissatisfaction with e-learning, it is imperative to remove barriers to learning and ensure alignment between technology and learners’ needs. In other words, the learning experience should be personalized to account for individual differences. Despite its cost-effectiveness, the one-size-fits-all approach hinders the learning process and experience and is likely to be met with resistance. Originality/value Drawing from the extensive literature, the study offers an explanation for stakeholders’ discontent with e-learning. Unlike survey research that is prone to social desirability bias, the sample provides a rare opportunity to observe and measure the visceral reactions that provide a more authentic sense of stakeholders’ perceptions toward online learning. The authors offer recommendations and identify areas for future research.

Low-rank human-like agents are trusted more and blamed less in human-autonomy teaming.

If humans are to team with artificial teammates, factors that influence trust and shared accountability must be considered when designing agents. This study investigates the influence of anthropomorphism, rank, decision cost, and task difficulty on trust in human-autonomous teams (HAT) and how blame is apportioned if shared tasks fail. Participants (N = 31) completed repeated trials with an artificial teammate using a low-fidelity variation of an air-traffic control game. We manipulated anthropomorphism (human-like or machine-like), military rank of artificial teammates using three-star (superiors), two-star (peers), or one-star (subordinate) agents, the perceived payload of vehicles with people or supplies onboard, and task difficulty with easy or hard missions using a within-subject design. A behavioural measure of trust was inferred when participants accepted agent recommendations, and a measure of no trust when recommendations were rejected or ignored. We analysed the data for trust using binomial logistic regression. After each trial, blame was apportioned using a 2-item scale and analysed using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. A post-experiment questionnaire obtained participants' power distance orientation using a seven-item scale. Possible power-related effects on trust and blame apportioning are discussed. Our findings suggest that artificial agents with higher levels of anthropomorphism and lower levels of rank increased trust and shared accountability, with human team members accepting more blame for team failures.

Exploring the total cost of whole fresh, fresh-cut and pre-cooked vegetables

PurposeThe food industry should evolve towards new business models which take into account the damage cost in decision making, considering the impact that its products generate on the natural and human environment. Hence, the present study aims to calculate the damage cost caused by the production of whole fresh (as average of potatoes, aubergines, and broccoli), and processed vegetables (fresh-cut and pre-cooked).MethodsThe environmental life cycle approach was carried out per kilogram of assessed products (from cradle to the entrance of the market). The foreground Life Cycle Inventory was obtained from engineering procurement and construction projects of the whole fresh and processed vegetables industries. The Ecoinvent 3.8 and Agribalyse 3.0.1 databases were used for the background inventory. The ReCiPe 2016 method was used with a hierarchical perspective, evaluating eighteen midpoint categories as well as the endpoint categories (human health, ecosystems, and resources). The monetisation of these environmental impacts was then calculated using the endpoint monetisation factors developed by Ponsioen et al. (Monetisation of sustainability impacts of food production and consumption. Wageningen Economic Research, Wageningen, 2020) for each product. It should be noted that this study does not include a comparative assessment. This study does not intend to compare the results for the three vegetable groups.Results and discussionThe damage costs were 0.16 €/kg for whole fresh vegetables, 0.37 €/kg for fresh-cut vegetables and 0.41 €/kg for pre-cooked vegetables. The agricultural production stage contributed most to these total damage costs due to the impact produced on land use and global warming in midpoint categories and human health and ecosystems in endpoint categories. In addition, the damage cost due to fossil resource scarcity (midpoint) and resource scarcity (endpoint) was mainly caused by the plastic packaging of fresh-cut and pre-cooked vegetables. The total cost was 1.02 €/kg for whole fresh vegetables, 2.99 €/kg for fresh-cut vegetables, and 3.43 €/kg for pre-cooked vegetables.ConclusionsThese results suggest that some efforts should be made to reduce both environmental impacts and damage costs. For instance, to improve agricultural production, special attention should be paid to fertilisation and water consumption. Additionally, new packaging options should be explored as well as the inclusion of renewable sources in the electricity grid, and finally, on transporting the finished products to the market, by using trucks that run on cleaner fuels.Graphical abstract

Task completion without commitment

We conduct an experiment where participants make choices between completing a task now or waiting to complete it in the future. We vary the dates when a task can be completed and the effort required at each date. We infer participants’ preferences for when to complete a task and their expectations about how their future preferences will differ from their current ones. Our findings indicate that most participants prefer to complete tasks immediately, even if it demands more effort than waiting. Their choices generally align with the principles of time consistency, monotonicity, and time invariance. We show that quasi-hyperbolic discounting, anticipatory utility, fixed costs, decision costs, and cost-of-keeping-track are all unable to provide a reasonable account of both our findings and related experiments.

Lane-changing decision and planning under humanized games for intelligent vehicles

Although autonomous driving vehicles have seen rapid development, their decision-making and planning technologies still fall short of meeting human-centric requirements. To address the issue of personalized driving within autonomous vehicles, a human-like autonomous driving framework is proposed. This framework divides the autonomous driving process into task decision-making and path planning. Firstly, during the modeling phase, a combined model of the driver and vehicle is integrated to form an integrated model for designing decision-making algorithms. Subsequently, a decision cost function is constructed during the decision phase to reflect driving safety, passenger comfort, and travel efficiency. Adjustments are made for different driving styles, employing non-cooperative game theory methods to resolve decision cost issues. Finally, an improved algorithm based on quintic polynomials is designed for trajectory planning to meet vehicle safety, comfort, and rapid operation requirements. Test results indicate that different driving styles lead to varying decision outcomes, yet the algorithms employed consistently provide reasonable decisions for autonomous driving vehicles, thereby enhancing road efficiency and safety.