Utilitarian Aggregation of Beliefs and Tastes
Year: 2004
Type: article
Abstract: Harsanyi’s utilitarianism is extended here to Savage’s framework. We formulate a Pareto condition that implies that both society’s utility function and its probability measure are linear combinations of those of the individuals. An indiscriminate Pareto condition has been shown to contradict linear aggregation of beliefs and tastes. We argue that such a condition is not compelling: Society should not necessarily endorse a unanimous choice when it is based on contradictory beliefs. Our Pareto condition is restricted to choices that involve identical beliefs only.
Source: Journal of Political Economy
DOI: 10.1086/421173
Authors: Itzhak Gilboa, Dov Samet, David Schmeidler
Institutions: Tel Aviv University, Yale University, The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1496189983