Axiomatic choice models and duality


Book Description

Every day people frequently have to make a choice. For practical and scientific reasons therefore it is interesting to know what choices they make and how they arrive at them. An approach to this question can be made via psychology. However, it is also possible to approach it on a more formal basis. In this book Dr. Wedde pohl describes the logical structure of an individual's rational choice. It is this formal, logical approach to the decision problem that makes the book interesting reading matter for all those who are engaged in the study of individual choice. The introduction apart this study may be divided into two parts. The first part, consisting of chapters II and III, deals with choice theory on a very abstract level. In chapter II some mathematical concepts are presented and in chapter III two related choice models are treated, the first one based on preferences, the second one on choice functions. The second part consists of chapters IV, V and VI and covers consumer choice theory. After the pre sentation of the mathematical tools, two models that are extensions of the models of chapter III are dealt with. In the discussion of consumer choice theory the concept of duality plays an important role and it is found that duality is closely related to the notion of favourability introduced in chap ter II I. Mr. Weddepohl's study forms an introduction to a larger research project to develop the theory of collective choice.




Duality and Modern Economics


Book Description

Provides a simple introductory exposition to the basic structure of dual technique analysis - consumer behaviour and producer behaviour - which has been used by many economists since the 1970s. Includes diagrams and an index.




Selected Topics in Operations Research and Mathematical Economics


Book Description

Let eRN be the usual vector-space of real N-uples with the usual inner product denoted by (. ,. ). In this paper P is a nonempty compact polyhedral set of mN, f is a real-valued function defined on (RN continuously differentiable and fP is the line- ly constrained minimization problem stated as : min (f(x) I x € P) • For computing stationary points of problemtj) we propose a method which attempts to operate within the linear-simplex method structure. This method then appears as a same type of method as the convex-simplex method of Zangwill [6]. It is however, different and has the advantage of being less technical with regards to the Zangwill method. It has also a simple geometrical interpretation which makes it more under standable and more open to other improvements. Also in the case where f is convex an implementable line-search is proposed which is not the case in the Zangwill method. Moreover, if f(x) = (c,x) this method will coincide with the simplex method (this is also true in the case of the convex simplex method) i if f(x) = I Ixl 12 it will be almost the same as the algorithm given by Bazaraa, Goode, Rardin [2].




Equilibrium, Markets and Dynamics


Book Description

This book contains essays in honour of Claus Weddepohl who, after 22 years, is retiring as professor of mathematical economics at the Department of Quantitative Economics of the University of Amsterdam. Claus Weddepohl may be viewed as th~ first Dutch mathematical economist in the general equi librium tradition of Arrow, Debreu and Hahn. The essays in this book are centered around the themes Equilibrium, Markets and Dynamics, that have been at the heart of Weddepohl's work on mathematical economics for more than three decades. The essays have been classified according to these three themes. Admittedly such a classification always is somewhat arbitrary, and most essays would in fact fit into two or even all three themes. The essays have been written by international as well as Dutch friends and colleagues including Weddepohl's former Ph. D. students. The book starts with a review of Claus Weddepohl's work by Roald Ramer, who has been working with him in Amsterdam for all those years. The review describes how Weddepohl became fascinated by general equilibrium theory in the early stages of his career, how he has been working on the theory of markets throughout his career, and how he turned to applications of nonlinear dynamics to price adjustment processes in a later stage of his career. The first part of the book, Equilibrium, collects essays with general equilib rium theory as the main theme.




Convex Analysis and Mathematical Economics


Book Description

On February 20, 1978, the Department of Econometrics of the University of Tilburg organized a symposium on Convex Analysis and Mathematical th Economics to commemorate the 50 anniversary of the University. The general theme of the anniversary celebration was "innovation" and since an important part of the departments' theoretical work is con centrated on mathematical economics, the above mentioned theme was chosen. The scientific part of the Symposium consisted of four lectures, three of them are included in an adapted form in this volume, the fourth lec ture was a mathematical one with the title "On the development of the application of convexity". The three papers included concern recent developments in the relations between convex analysis and mathematical economics. Dr. P.H.M. Ruys and Dr. H.N. Weddepohl (University of Tilburg) study in their paper "Economic theory and duality", the relations between optimality and equilibrium concepts in economic theory and various duality concepts in convex analysis. The models are introduced with an individual facing a decision in an optimization problem. Next, an n person decision problem is analyzed, and the following concepts are defined: optimum, relative optimum, Nash-equilibrium, and Pareto-optimum.







Additive Representations of Preferences


Book Description




Equilibrium and Disequilibrium in Economic Theory


Book Description

This volume is the result of a conference held at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna. There is still a gap reflected both in fundamental meth odological differences and in the style of analysis between the Walrasian (and Edgeworthian) tradition of general equilibrium theory and the theo retical and policy problems raised in the framework of Keynesian and post-Keynesian macroeconomics. The conference succeeded in bringing together economic theorists working in fields ranging from abstract prob lems of mathematical equilibrium analysis to applied macroeconomic theory, and it is hoped that the present volume will contribute to bridging the above-mentioned hiatus. As organizer of the meeting and editor of its proceedings I want to thank the Institute for Advanced Studies for providing facilities and funds. I am also sincerely grateful to all my colleagues from the Institute for their generous help, in particular to Mrs Monika Herkner without whose assistance and organizational talent the conference would certainly not have been the success it in fact - in the opinion of all participants - turned out to have been. Furthermore, I wish to express my gratitude towards all participants in the meeting and contributors to the volume whose patient support of the whole enterprise proved indispensable. To Mrs Elfriede Auracher I am deeply indebted for her skillful and effective general management of the editorial work and her invaluable assistance in compiling the indexes.







Enlarging economic doctrine


Book Description