What is the endowment effect? How do behavioral economists explain the existence of this phenomenon?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is The endowment effect is a phenomenon that causes people to value something more simply because they already have it. Behavioral economists focus on the evolutionary helpfulness of this effect; if people tend to value things more when they have them (and conversely, less when they don't), this would reduce social conflict because people would tend, on average, to be more satisfied with the things they have then the things they don't, all else equal.

What Is the Endowment Effect? How Do Behavioral Economists Explain