Limitation 2 of utility theory

Discussion in 'CT8' started by Strat_Lask, Aug 14, 2010.

  1. Strat_Lask

    Strat_Lask Member

    Hi there

    Could someone perhaps help me with this Q? On page 44 in chapter 2 on Utility Theory and Stochastic Dominance, I am not sure I completely understand what is meant by the expected utility theorem "cannot be applied separately to each of several sets of risky choices facing an individual". What exactly is meant by this limitation?

    Thank you ever so much.

    Kind regards
     
  2. John Potter

    John Potter ActEd Tutor Staff Member

    The EUT basically says that individuals can rank their happiness (expected utility) across different levels of wealth.

    Imagine two possible investment opportunities. We could use our utility function + calculator to work out how happy each one would make us individually and decide whether or not to invest in either.

    We may decide to invest in A from our current position
    We may also decide to invest in B from our current position

    However, it may be that the combination of A and B, we would not decide to invest from out current position.

    We need to consider everything as a whole, we can't just assume that all the individual decisions will stay the same when combined.
     
  3. Strat_Lask

    Strat_Lask Member

    Thanks once again for the insights John.
     

Share This Page