We review the evolution of the concept of utility in economics, addressing the conceptual and terminological fragmentation that characterises the interdisciplinary debate. This study adopts the scoping review framework to systematically analyse the main theoretical approaches, ranging from...

This study employs the Open-Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to identify the least-cost technology options, investment requirements, and capacity needed to electrify all unelectrified communities in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Based on OnSSET modelling, the total number of unelectrified...

We study static binary coordination games with random utility played on networks. In equilibrium, each agent chooses an action only if a fraction of her neighbors choosing the same action is higher than an agent‐specific i.i.d. threshold. A fuzzy convention x is a profile where (almost) all...

Fairness in competitive games such as the Ultimatum Game is often defined theoretically. According to some of the literature, in which fairness is determined only based on resource allocation, a proposal splitting resources evenly (i.e., 5:5) is generally assumed as fair, and minimal deviation...

We present a meta-analysis of prospect theory (PT ) parameters, summarizing data from 166 papers reporting 812 estimates. These parameters capture risk-taking propensities, thus holding interest beyond PT. We develop an inverse-variance weighted method that accounts for correlations in PT...

This paper introduces the random discounted expected utility (RDEU) model, which we have developed as a means to deal with heterogeneous risk and time preferences. The RDEU model provides an explicit linkage between preference and choice heterogeneity. We prove it has solid comparative statics,...

Utility theory is a pivotal concept in economics that provides insights into how an individual is motivated to act under budget constraints. The main assumption of this theory and the entire field of economics is that a rational human being and an individual derive utility from the consumption...

It is widely held that under ordinal utility, utility differences are ill-defined. Allegedly, for these to be well-defined (without turning to choice under risk or the like), one should adopt as a new kind of primitive quaternary relations, instead of the traditional binary relations underlying...

The adoption of models based on key performance indicators to diagnose and evaluate the competitiveness of companies has been presented as a trend in the operations' management. These models are structured with different variables in complex interrelationships, making diagnosis and monitoring...

While the topics of risk aversion and utility theory have been discussed extensively in the academic literature on risk and insurance, this literature does not include a pedagogical discussion that is widely accessible for classroom use. This paper provides a practical introduction to risk...

Rank dependent probability weighting---an integral part of cumulative prospect theory---has come to dominate the behavioral modeling of risk preferences in non-strategic settings over the last 40 years. We draw attention to some serious limitations of rank dependence when it comes to...

The random utility model (RUM, McFadden and Richter (1990)) has been the standard tool to describe the behavior of a population of decision makers. RUM assumes that decision makers behave as if they maximize a rational preference over a choice set. This assumption may fail when consideration of...

We analyze consumer demand behavior using Dynamic Random Utility Model (DRUM). Under DRUM, a consumer draws a utility function from a stochastic utility process in each period and maximizes this utility subject to her budget constraint. DRUM allows unrestricted time correlation and cross-section...

This proceedings book contains selected papers from the Fifth International Workshop on Best-Worst Method (BWM2024), held in Delft, the Netherlands, from 13 to 14 June 2024. It presents recent advancements in theory and applications of the Best-Worst Method. It provides valuable insights on why...

The analysis of optimal risk sharing has been thus far largely restricted to non-expected utility models with concave utility functions, where concavity is an expression of ambiguity aversion and/or risk aversion. This paper extends the analysis to α-maxmin expected utility, Choquet expected...

Principled capitalism has been proposed as a replacement for liberal capitalism. Moral principles should be driving our individual and collective decisions rather than utility and profit. A new unit called an oblig is suggested as a measure of the amount of the substance of the "stuff" that...

In this note we ask when Epstein-Zin-Weil (EZW) recursive utility over the infinite horizon is well-founded. EZW recursive utility has a parameter $\gamma 0$ representing risk aversion and a parameter $\psi 0$ representing intertemporal elasticity of substitution, and is an extension of...

This paper investigates the role of the outside good utility function on admissible substitution patterns in multiple discrete/continuous demand models. We first present a set of novel results that characterize the functional form of quantity price effects within this class of models. The...

Considering the globalized nature of international financial markets and the important role of innovative entrepreneurial endeavors for employment and economic development, this paper analyzes the global supply and demand of entrepreneurial finance, in the form of individuals’ savings and...

Utilitarianism was a major philosophical movement of the nineteenth century which focused on maximising the happiness of individuals and societies through the mechanism of rational reasoning by individuals. Many of the 19th century utilitarians, including John Stuart Mill, were also early...

Building on the Herstein-Milnor mixture set axiomatization of expected utility theory, we employ multiple mixture operators each modeling a source of uncertainty to arrive at a definition of rich mixture sets. This enables a weakening of the reduction of compound lottery axiom leading to an...

This paper studies the Random Utility Model (RUM) in a repeated stochastic choice situation, in which the decision maker is imperfectly informed about the payoffs associated to each of the available alternatives. By embedding the RUM into an online decision problem, we develop a gradient-based...

This note provides a nonparametric test for dynamic discrete random utility models (DDRUM). The methodology can be used to understand the welfare implications of price changes in demand data when there is no uncertainty for consumers that have preferences over product characteristics or discrete...

Utility tokens are digital currencies that serve as the only accepted means of payment for services and products provided through a blockchain-based platform. They finance the development of their product or service, reward and incentivize early adopters and network promoters, align economic...

We characterize optimal consumption policies in a recursive intertemporal utility framework with local substitution. We establish existence and uniqueness and a version of the Kuhn-Tucker theorem characterizing the optimal consumption plan. An explicit solution is provided for the case when the...