Publications
Publications
- December 1988
- Journal of Risk and Uncertainty
Ordinal Independence in Non-Linear Utility Theory
By: Jerry R. Green and Bruno Jullien
Abstract
Individual behavior under uncertainty is characterized using a new axiom, ordinal independence, which is a weakened form of the von Neumann-Morgcnslern independence axiom. It states that if two distributions share a tail in common, then this tail can be modified without altering the individual's preference between these distributions. Preference is determined by the tail on which the distributions differ. This axiom implies an appealing and simple functional form for a numerical representation of preferences. It generalizes the form of anticipated utility, and it explains some well-known forms of behavior, such as the Friedman-Savage paradox, that anticipated utility cannot.
Keywords
Citation
Green, Jerry R., and Bruno Jullien. "Ordinal Independence in Non-Linear Utility Theory." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 1, no. 4 (December 1988): 355–387.