Optimal boundaries for decisions

Abstract

In this paper we state and prove some new results about the optimal boundaries. These boundaries (also called Pareto boundaries or efficiency boundaries or maximal/minimal boundaries) are of increasing importance in the applications to Decision Theory and Economics. First of all the Pareto boundaries are the first and most important generalization of the optima of decision constraints. On the other hand, if f is a real functional (utility function) defined on a non empty set X (of choices or economic strategies) and K is a part of X, the determination of the optimal boundaries of the part K, with respect to some preference relation ≤ of X for which the function f is strictly increasing, allows to reduce the optimization problem of finding the minimum of the functional f upon the part K to the problem of finding the minimum of f upon the minimal boundary of K. We note that the minimal boundary of K is, in general, greatly smaller than the initial decision constraint K. An economic application to the Cournot duopoly is presented.Optimal strategy, Pareto efficiency, cofinality, decision problem, utility function, Cournòt duopoly