Abstract
Using a basic theorem from mathematical logic, I show that there are field-extensions of R on which a class of orderings that do not admit any real-valued utility functions can be represented by uncountably large families of utility functions. These are the lexicographically decomposable orderings studied in Beardon et al. (2002a). A corollary to this result yields an uncountably large family of very simple utility functions for the lexicographic ordering of the real Cartesian plane. I generalise these results to the lexicographic ordering of R^n, for every n > 2, and to lexicographic products of lexicographically decomposable chains. I conclude by showing how almost all of these results may be obtained without any appeal to the Axiom of Choice.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 105–109 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Mathematical Economics |
Volume | 60 |
Early online date | 4 Jul 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2015 |
Keywords
- Utility
- Lexicographic ordering
- Nonstandard analysis
Profiles
-
Davide Rizza
- School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies - Associate Professor in Philosophy
- Algebra, Number Theory, Logic, and Representations (ANTLR) - Member
- Philosophy - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research