To infinity and beyond: a general framework for scaling economic theories

Yannai A. Gonczarowski (), Scott Duke Kominers () and Ran I. Shorrer ()
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Yannai A. Gonczarowski: Department of Economics and Department of Computer Science, Harvard University
Scott Duke Kominers: Entrepreneurial Management Unit, Harvard Business School; Department of Economics and Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, Harvard University; and a16z crypto
Ran I. Shorrer: Department of Econonics, Penn State University

Theoretical Economics, Forthcoming

Abstract: Many economic models incorporate finiteness assumptions that, while introduced for simplicity, play a real role in the analysis. We provide a principled framework for scaling results from such models by removing these finiteness assumptions. Our sufficient conditions are on the theorem statement only, and not on its proof. This results in short proofs, and even allows us to use the same argument to scale similar theorems that were proven using distinctly different tools. We demonstrate the versatility of our approach via an array of examples from revealed-preference theory.

Keywords: Revealed preferences; infinite models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C02 D00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-08-07
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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