Random utility discrete choice models, partition functions and information theory

Noah Smith mentions random utility discrete choice models again, this time at Bloomberg View: 

These models, which are used to predict consumer choices in a huge variety of situations, have been so accurate and successful that they are regularly cited as the canonical example of "economics that works."

As I pointed out in a comment awhile ago on his blog, there is a lot of overlap between the approach and the partition function approach to the information transfer model. In fact, one can see the information transfer macro model as a specific choice of the utility function that is proportional to log M (where M is a measure of the money supply). Entropy maximization (partition function) and utility maximization aren't necessarily completely at odds -- the differences are described in this post.