Midlands State University Library

On the spatial representation of preference profiles

Eguia, Jon

On the spatial representation of preference profiles created by Jon X. Eguia - Economic theory Volume 52, number 1 .

Given a set of alternatives with multiple attributes, I characterize the set of preference profiles that are representable by weighted versions of a class of utility functions indexed by a parameter δ > 0, where δ ≥ 1 corresponds to the set of Minkowski’s (1886) metric functions. In light of the starkly different consequences between representability with δ ≤ 1 or with δ > 1, I propose a test to empirically estimate δ and I discuss the theoretical and empirical implications for spatial models of political competition.

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Utility representation--Multidimensional preferences--Spatial models
Spatial representation

HB119 ECO