Nash was a first to axiomatize expected utility

Han Bleichrodt, Chen Li, Ivan Moscati () and Peter Wakker
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Chen Li: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Ivan Moscati: Insubria University

Theory and Decision, 2016, vol. 81, issue 3, No 1, 309-312

Abstract: Abstract Nash is famous for many inventions, but it is less known that he, simultaneously with Marschak, also was the first to axiomatize expected utility for risk. In particular, these authors were the first to state the independence condition, a condition that should have been but was not stated by von Neumann and Morgenstern. Marschak’s paper resulted from interactions with several people at the Cowles Commission. We document unique letters and personal communications with Nash, Samuelson, Arrow, Dalkey, and others, making plausible that Nash made his discovery independently from the others.

Keywords: John Nash; Expected utility; Independence preference axiom; Foundations of decision theory; History of decision theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11238-016-9542-3

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