The constructive theory of preference relations on a locally compact space

This paper, which is written within a rigorously constructive framework, deals with preference relations (strict weak orders) on a locally compact space X, and with the representation of such relations by continuous utility functions (order isomorphisms) from X into ℝ. Necessary conditions are given for finding the values of a utility function algorithmically in terms of the parameters when X is a locally compact, convex subset of R^N. These conditions single out the class of admissible preference relations, which are investigated in some detail. The paper concludes with some results on the algorithmic continuity of the process which assigns utility functions to admissible preference relations.The work of this paper can be regarded as a recursive development of preference and utility theory.     

Multiperson decision-making based on multiplicative preference relations

A multiperson decision-making problem, where the information about the alternatives provided by the experts can be presented by means of different preference representation structures (preference orderings, utility functions and multiplicative preference relations) is studied. Assuming the multiplicative preference relation as the uniform element of the preference representation, a multiplicative decision model based on fuzzy majority is presented to choose the best alternatives. In this decision model, several transformation functions are obtained to relate preference orderings and utility functions with multiplicative preference relations. The decision model uses the ordered weighted geometric operator to aggregate information and two choice degrees to rank the alternatives, quantifier guided dominance degree and quantifier guided non-dominance degree. The consistency of the model is analysed to prove that it acts coherently.     

Some generalizations of Backʼs Theorem

The problem of the existence of jointly continuous utility functions is studied. A continuous representation theorem of Back [1] gives the existence of a continuous map from the space of total preorders topologized by closed convergence (Fell topology) to the space of utility functions with different choice sets (partial maps) endowed with a generalization of the compact-open topology. The commodity space is locally compact and second countable. Our results generalize Back?s Theorem to non-metrizable commodity spaces with a family of not necessarily total preorders. Precisely, we consider regular commodity spaces having a weaker locally compact second countable topology.     

A nonsmooth approach to nonexpected utility theory under risk

We consider concave and Lipschitz continuous preference functionals over monetary lotteries. We show that they possess an envelope representation, as the minimum of a bounded family of continuous vN-M preference functionals. This allows us to use an envelope theorem to show that results from local utility analysis still hold in our setting, without any further differentiability assumptions on the preference functionals. Finally, we provide an axiomatisation of a class of concave preference functionals that are Lipschitz.     

A nonsmooth approach to nonexpected utility theory under risk

We consider concave and Lipschitz continuous preference functionals over monetary lotteries. We show that they possess an envelope representation, as the minimum of a bounded family of continuous vN-M preference functionals. This allows us to use an envelope theorem to show that results from local utility analysis still hold in our setting, without any further differentiability assumptions on the preference functionals. Finally, we provide an axiomatisation of a class of concave preference functionals that are Lipschitz.     

偏好的对子态可分性

本文提出了消费者偏好的对子态可分性概念，并用来揭示一般选择集合上偏好的效用函数表示的特征，证明了偏好关系可用效用函数表示的充分必要条件是该偏好具有对子态可分性和可数满足性，还证明了偏好关系具有长直线ｗ１—表示的充分必要条件是该偏好具有对子态可分性．这两个结果，使得对子态可分性成为用直线上的序来表示消费偏好序之本质所在．     

Continuous Utility Representation Theorems in Arbitrary Concrete Categories

In this paper the continuous utility representation problem will be discussed in arbitrary concrete categories. In particular, generalizations of the utility representation theorems of Eilenberg, Debreu and Estévez and Hervés will be presented that also hold if the codomain of a utility function is an arbitrary totally ordered set and not just the real line. In addition, we shall prove and apply a general result on the characterization of structures that have the property that every continuous total preorder has a continuous utility representation. Finally, generalizations of the utility representation theorems of Debreu and Eilenberg will be discussed that are valid if we consider arbitrary binary relations and allow a utility function to have values in an arbitrary totally ordered set.      

On countable choice and sequential spaces

Under the axiom of choice, every first countable space is a Fréchet‐Urysohn space. Although, in its absence even ? may fail to be a sequential space. Our goal in this paper is to discuss under which set‐theoretic conditions some topological classes, such as the first countable spaces, the metric spaces, or the subspaces of ?, are classes of Fréchet‐Urysohn or sequential spaces. In this context, it is seen that there are metric spaces which are not sequential spaces. This fact raises the question of knowing if the completion of a metric space exists and it is unique. The answer depends on the definition of completion. Among other results it is shown that: every first countable space is a sequential space if and only if the axiom of countable choice holds, the sequential closure is idempotent in ? if and only if the axiom of countable choice holds for families of subsets of ?, and every metric space has a unique ‐completion. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Decision making under uncertainty comprising complete ignorance and probability

This paper investigates a model of decision making under uncertainty comprising opposite epistemic states of complete ignorance and probability. In the first part, a new utility theory under complete ignorance is developed that combines Hurwicz–Arrow's theory of decision under ignorance with Anscombe–Aumann's idea of reversibility and monotonicity used to characterize subjective probability. The main result is a representation theorem for preference under ignorance by a particular one-parameter function – the τ-anchor utility function. In the second part, we study decision making under uncertainty comprising an ignorant variable and a probabilistic variable. We show that even if the variables are independent, they are not reversible in Anscombe–Aumann's sense. This insight leads to the development of a new proposal for decision under uncertainty represented by a preference relation that satisfies the weak order and monotonicity assumptions but rejects the reversibility assumption. A distinctive feature of the new proposal is that the certainty equivalent of a mapping from the state space of uncertain variables to the prize space depends on the order in which the variables are revealed. Explicit modeling of the order of variables explains some of the puzzles in multiple-prior model and the models for decision making with Dempster–Shafer belief function.     

Multi-attribute non-expected utility

In management applications of risk theory, planning and decision making are typically concerned with complex multi-dimensional attributes of risk and utility trade-offs between them. This paper presents a novel approach to multi-attribute non-expected utility which is especially designed to serve application and risk management purposes. It is based on a recently developed non-expected utility model that accommodates systematic violations of expected utility of various kinds observed in risky choice experiments. In the model, the possible outcomes of risky decisions are assumed to be multi-dimensional, that is, classified, measured, compared and assessed from different economic and non-economic perspectives simultaneously. Of the risk attributes to be jointly evaluated in a decision problem, each is supposed to be utility independent of the complementary set of all the other attributes also considered. Mutual utility independence and additive independence are particularly pronounced forms of utility independence. An order-preserving preference functional exists if the agent??s risk preferences satisfy familiar rationality requirements. The functional provides a consistently scaled, multi-linear representation in terms of single-attribute probability-dependent utility functions. Finally, the formalism is applied to explain observed trade-offs between monetary benefits obtained, and fatalities incurred, in the operation of large-scale industrial systems.     

An optimal job,consumption/leisure,and investment policy

In this paper we investigate an optimal job, consumption, and investment policy of an economic agent in a continuous and infinite time horizon. The agent’s preference is characterized by the Cobb–Douglas utility function whose arguments are consumption and leisure. We use the martingale method to obtain the closed-form solution for the optimal job, consumption, and portfolio policy. We compare the optimal consumption and investment policy with that in the absence of job choice opportunities.     

Multiutility representations for incomplete difference preorders

A difference preorder is a (possibly incomplete) preorder on a space of state changes (rather than the states themselves); it encodes information about preference intensity, in addition to ordinal preferences. We find necessary and sufficient conditions for a difference preorder to be representable by a family of cardinal utility functions which take values in linearly ordered abelian groups. We also discuss the sense in which this cardinal utility representation is unique up to affine transformations, and under what conditions it is real-valued. This has applications to interpersonal comparisons, social welfare, and decisions under uncertainty.     

Axiomatic characterization of a general utility function and its particular cases in terms of conjoint measurement and rough-set decision rules

Utility or value functions play an important role of preference models in multiple-criteria decision making. We investigate the relationships between these models and the decision-rule preference model obtained from the Dominance-based Rough Set Approach. The relationships are established by means of special “cancellation properties” used in conjoint measurement as axioms for representation of aggregation procedures. We are considering a general utility function and three of its important special cases: associative operator, Sugeno integral and ordered weighted maximum. For each of these aggregation functions we give a representation theorem establishing equivalence between a very weak cancellation property, the specific utility function and a set of rough-set decision rules. Each result is illustrated by a simple example of multiple-criteria decision making. The results show that the decision rule model we propose has clear advantages over a general utility function and its particular cases.     

Comparing financial investments by their state dependent returns: A one-way log utility representation

In a standard single-period model under risk, we formalize and discuss an intuitive criterion for the binary comparison of financial investments. Two investments – x and y – are compared by calculating the present value of x’s payoffs using the state dependent returns of y as discount factors. The induced preference is asymmetric but exhibits intransitive indifference. If the feasible set is convex, then the criterion selects a unique maximum element. Interestingly, it can be shown that the induced preference can be represented by a one-way expected utility representation employing logarithmic utility. Besides giving a relevant and illustrative example for a one-way utility representation, this result provides a new interpretation of using logarithmic utility for expected utility based decision-making.     

Expected utility for nonstochastic risk

Stochastic random phenomena considered in von Neumann–Morgenstern utility theory constitute only a part of all possible random phenomena (Kolmogorov, 1986). We show that any sequence of observed consequences generates a corresponding sequence of frequency distributions, which in general does not have a single limit point but a non-empty closed limit set in the space of finitely additive probabilities. This approach to randomness allows to generalize the expected utility theory in order to cover decision problems under nonstochastic random events. We derive the maxmin expected utility representation for preferences over closed sets of probability measures. The derivation is based on the axiom of preference for stochastic risk, i.e. the decision maker wishes to reduce a set of probability distributions to a single one. This complements Gilboa and Schmeidler’s (1989) consideration of the maxmin expected utility rule with objective treatment of multiple priors.     

Nonlinear functional analysis and optimal economic growth

A problem of existence and characterization of solutions of optimal growth models in many sector economies is studied. The social utility to be optimized is a generalized form of a preference depending additively on consumption at the different dates of the planning period. The optimization is restricted to a set of admissible growth paths defined by production-investment-consumption relations described by a system of differential equations. Sufficient conditions are given for existence of a solution in a Hilbert space of paths, without convexity assumptions on either the utilities or the technology, using techniques of nonlinear functional analysis. A characterization is given of the utilities which are continuous with respect to the Hilbert space norm. Under convexity assumptions a characterization is also given of optimal and efficient solutions by competitive prices.     

Representing Utility Functions via Weighted Goals

We analyze the expressivity, succinctness, and complexity of a family of languages based on weighted propositional formulas for the representation of utility functions. The central idea underlying this form of preference modeling is to associate numerical weights with goals specified in terms of propositional formulas, and to compute the utility value of an alternative as the sum of the weights of the goals it satisfies. We define a large number of representation languages based on this idea, each characterized by a set of restrictions on the syntax of formulas and the range of weights. Our aims are threefold. First, for each language we try to identify the class of utility functions it can express. Second, when different languages can express the same class of utility functions, one may allow for a more succinct representation than another. Therefore, we analyze the relative succinctness of languages. Third, for each language we study the computational complexity of the problem of finding the most preferred alternative given a utility function expressed in that language (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Revealed preference theory: An algorithmic outlook

Revealed preference theory is a domain within economics that studies rationalizability of behavior by (certain types of) utility functions. Given observed behavior in the form of choice data, testing whether certain conditions are satisfied gives rise to a variety of computational problems that can be analyzed using operations research techniques. In this survey, we provide an overview of these problems, their theoretical complexity, and available algorithms for tackling them. We focus on consumer choice settings, in particular individual choice, collective choice and stochastic choice settings.     

Multivalent preference structures

This paper presents a valence approach for assessing multiattribute utility functions. Unlike the decomposition approach which uses independence axioms on whole attributes to obtain utility representations, the valence approach partitions the elements of each attribute into classes on the basis of equivalent conditional preference orders. These partitions generate multivalent utility independence axioms that lead to additive-multiplicative and quasi-additive representation theorems for multiaatribute utility functions defined over product sets of equivalence classes. Preference interdependencies are thereby reflected in these classes, so attribute interactions are readily interpreted and the functional forms of the representations are kept simple.     

Friendship Networks Through Time: An Actor-Oriented Dynamic Statistical Network Model

We propose a class of actor-oriented statistical models for closed social networks in general, and friendship networks in particular. The models are random utility models developed within a rational choice framework. Based on social psychological and sociological theories about friendship, mathematical functions capturing expected utility of individual actors with respect to friendship are constructed. Expected utility also contains a random (unexplained) component. We assume that, given their restrictions and contact opportunities, individuals evaluate their utility functions and behave such that they maximize the expected amount of utility. The behavior under consideration is the expression of like and dislike (choice of friends). Theoretical mechanisms that are modelled are, e.g., the principle of diminishing returns, the tendency towards reciprocated choices, and the preference for friendship relations with similar others. Constraints imposed on individuals are, e.g., the structure of the existing network, and the distribution of personal characteristics over the respondents. The models are illustrated by means of a data-set collected among university freshmen at 7 points in time during 1994 and 1995.