Translation invariance when utility streams are infinite and unbounded

Abstract

The axiom translation invariance consists in asserting the invariance of the ranking of two utility streams if one applies the same translation to both. This axiom is significant in the characterization of utilitarian criteria in finite dimension. This characterization is achieved thanks to the "weak weighted utilitarianism theorem".The objective here is to propose a generalization of this theorem in a space of infinite and unbounded utility streams. A consequence of the suggested generalization is that, in the context of intergenerational choice, every maximal point with respect to a paretian utilitarian order granting comparable considerations to the present and the future, is also a maximal point with respect to some future-oriented criterion.Translation invariance; Infinite utility streams; Utilitarianism; Intergenerational equity