"Convex preferences": a new definition

Michael Richter and Ariel Rubinstein ()

Theoretical Economics, 2019, vol. 14, issue 4

Abstract: We suggest a concept of convexity of preferences that does not rely on any algebraic structure. A decision maker has in mind a set of orderings interpreted as evaluation criteria. A preference relation is defined to be convex when it satisfies the following: if for each criterion there is an element that is both inferior to b by the criterion and superior to a by the preference relation, then b is preferred to a. This definition generalizes the standard Euclidean definition of convex preferences. It is shown that under general conditions, any strict convex preference relation is represented by a maxmin of utility representations of the criteria. Some economic examples are provided.

Keywords: Convex preferences; abstract convexity; maxmin utility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C60 D01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-12-02
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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