Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Jan, 1978, Volume 46, Issue 1

Admissible Sets of Utility Functions in Expected Utility Maximization

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1913655
p. 181-184

Tae Kun Seo, William R. Russell

A generalization of the St. Petersburg paradox has led Menger to observe that utility functions must be bounded to insure existence of expected utility when probability distributions are unrestricted. It is clear that the admissible set of utility functions can be expanded as restrictions are imposed on the distribution functions under consideration. This paper provides a schema for determining the admissible utility functions for each probability distribution set defined by a minimum order requirement on the moments of the distribution.


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