A Class of Utility Functions Containing all the Common Utility Functions

This paper presents a class of utility functions (class A ∞ ) that contains all of the utility functions commonly used for mathematical modeling: the class consisting of those utility functions whose derivatives alternate in sign. A simple representation via mixtures of exponential utilities is provided for this class which is both mathematically convenient and conducive to functional operations. A connection with Laplace transforms and the resultant implications for preference relations, aggregation and utility assessment are discussed.

• 저널Management Science · 33(8) · 955–964
• 토픽Multi-Criteria Decision Making · Management Science and Operations Research
• DOI10.1287/mnsc.33.8.955
• 저자Patrick L. Brockett, Linda L. Golden