search query: @author Robson, A. J. / total: 2
reference: 1 / 2
« previous | next »
| Author: | Robson, A. J. |
| Title: | Why would nature give individuals utility functions? |
| Journal: | Journal of Political Economy
2001 : AUG, VOL. 109:4, p. 900-914 |
| Index terms: | EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMICS INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR UTILITY THEORY |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | Consider the possible of biological origin of the expected utility criterion. On the one hand, if individuals possess a utility function stemming from the rate of production of expected offspring, they can rapidly adapt to arbitrary unknown distribution in a bandit problem. Embedding such a utility function in a simple rule of thumb involving no beliefs about probabilities leads to evolutionary optimality. On the other hand, if any rule whatever yields evolutionary optimality for all distributions, this precise function must be implicit, in a revealed preference sense. |
« previous | next »
SCIMA