2,309 research outputs found
Preference symmetries, partial differential equations, and functional forms for utility
A discrete symmetry of a preference relation is a mapping from the domain of choice to itself under which preference comparisons are invariant; a continuous symmetry is a one-parameter family of such transformations that includes the identity; and a symmetry field is a vector field whose trajectories generate a continuous symmetry. Any continuous symmetry of a preference relation implies that its representations satisfy a system of PDEs. Conversely the system implies the continuous symmetry if the latter is generated by a field. Moreover, solving the PDEs yields the functional form for utility equivalent to the symmetry. This framework is shown to encompass a variety of representation theorems related to univariate separability, multivariate separability, and homogeneity, including the cases of CobbâDouglas and CES utilityr. The
work reported here was supported by a research fellowship from Nuffield College,
Oxfor
Economic Theory in the Mathematical Mode
Lecture to the memory of Alfred Nobel, December 8, 1983general equilibrium;
Singular Continuation: Generating Piece-wise Linear Approximations to Pareto Sets via Global Analysis
We propose a strategy for approximating Pareto optimal sets based on the
global analysis framework proposed by Smale (Dynamical systems, New York, 1973,
pp. 531-544). The method highlights and exploits the underlying manifold
structure of the Pareto sets, approximating Pareto optima by means of
simplicial complexes. The method distinguishes the hierarchy between singular
set, Pareto critical set and stable Pareto critical set, and can handle the
problem of superposition of local Pareto fronts, occurring in the general
nonconvex case. Furthermore, a quadratic convergence result in a suitable
set-wise sense is proven and tested in a number of numerical examples.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figure
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