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Supermodularity
In mathematics, a function :f\colon \mathbb^k \to \mathbb is supermodular if : f(x \uparrow y) + f(x \downarrow y) \geq f(x) + f(y) for all x, y \isin \mathbb^, where x \uparrow y denotes the componentwise maximum and x \downarrow y the componentwise minimum of x and y. If −''f'' is supermodular then ''f'' is called submodular, and if the inequality is changed to an equality the function is modular. If ''f'' is twice continuously differentiable, then supermodularity is equivalent to the condition : \frac \geq 0 \mbox i \neq j. Supermodularity in economics and game theory The concept of supermodularity is used in the social sciences to analyze how one agent's decision affects the incentives of others. Consider a symmetric game with a smooth payoff function \,f defined over actions \,z_i of two or more players i \in . Suppose the action space is continuous; for simplicity, suppose each action is chosen from an interval: z_i \in ,b/math>. In this context, supermodularity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topkis's Theorem
In mathematical economics, Topkis's theorem is a result that is useful for establishing comparative statics. The theorem allows researchers to understand how the optimal value for a choice variable changes when a feature of the environment changes. The result states that if ''f'' is supermodular in (''x'',''θ''), and ''D'' is a lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an orna ..., then x^*(\theta)=\arg\max_f(x,\theta) is nondecreasing in ''θ''. The result is especially helpful for establishing comparative static results when the objective function is not differentiable. The result is named after Donald M. Topkis. An example This example will show how using Topkis's theorem gives the same result as using more standard tools. The advantage of using Topkis's theorem is that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utility Functions On Indivisible Goods
Some branches of economics and game theory deal with indivisible goods, discrete items that can be traded only as a whole. For example, in combinatorial auctions there is a finite set of items, and every agent can buy a subset of the items, but an item cannot be divided among two or more agents. It is usually assumed that every agent assigns subjective utility to every subset of the items. This can be represented in one of two ways: * An ordinal utility preference relation, usually marked by \succ. The fact that an agent prefers a set A to a set B is written A \succ B. If the agent only weakly prefers A (i.e. either prefers A or is indifferent between A and B) then this is written A \succeq B. * A cardinal utility function, usually denoted by u. The utility an agent gets from a set A is written u(A). Cardinal utility functions are often normalized such that u(\emptyset)=0, where \emptyset is the empty set. A cardinal utility function implies a preference relation: u(A)>u(B) implies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics with the major subdisciplines of number theory, algebra, geometry, and analysis, respectively. There is no general consensus among mathematicians about a common definition for their academic discipline. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them. These objects consist of either abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicsentities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. A ''proof'' consists of a succession of applications of deductive rules to already established results. These results include previously proved theorems, axioms, andin case of abstraction from naturesome basic properties that are considered true starting points of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optimization Of Ordered Sets
Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfields: discrete optimization and continuous optimization. Optimization problems of sorts arise in all quantitative disciplines from computer science and engineering to operations research and economics, and the development of solution methods has been of interest in mathematics for centuries. In the more general approach, an optimization problem consists of maximizing or minimizing a real function by systematically choosing input values from within an allowed set and computing the value of the function. The generalization of optimization theory and techniques to other formulations constitutes a large area of applied mathematics. More generally, optimization includes finding "best available" values of some objective function given a define ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Theory
Order theory is a branch of mathematics that investigates the intuitive notion of order using binary relations. It provides a formal framework for describing statements such as "this is less than that" or "this precedes that". This article introduces the field and provides basic definitions. A list of order-theoretic terms can be found in the order theory glossary. Background and motivation Orders are everywhere in mathematics and related fields like computer science. The first order often discussed in primary school is the standard order on the natural numbers e.g. "2 is less than 3", "10 is greater than 5", or "Does Tom have fewer cookies than Sally?". This intuitive concept can be extended to orders on other sets of numbers, such as the integers and the reals. The idea of being greater than or less than another number is one of the basic intuitions of number systems (compare with numeral systems) in general (although one usually is also interested in the actual difference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superadditive
In mathematics, a function f is superadditive if f(x+y) \geq f(x) + f(y) for all x and y in the domain of f. Similarly, a sequence \left\, n \geq 1, is called superadditive if it satisfies the inequality a_ \geq a_n + a_m for all m and n. The term "superadditive" is also applied to functions from a boolean algebra to the real numbers where P(X \lor Y) \geq P(X) + P(Y), such as lower probabilities. Properties If f is a superadditive function, and if 0 is in its domain, then f(0) \leq 0. To see this, take the inequality at the top: f(x) \leq f(x+y) - f(y). Hence f(0) \leq f(0+y) - f(y) = 0. The negative of a superadditive function is subadditive. Fekete's lemma The major reason for the use of superadditive sequences is the following lemma due to Michael Fekete. :Lemma: (Fekete) For every superadditive sequence \left\, n \geq 1, the limit \lim a_n/n is equal to \sup a_n/n. (The limit may be positive infinity, for instance, for the sequence a_n = \log n!.) For example, f( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submodular Set Function
In mathematics, a submodular set function (also known as a submodular function) is a set function whose value, informally, has the property that the difference in the incremental value of the function that a single element makes when added to an input set decreases as the size of the input set increases. Submodular functions have a natural diminishing returns property which makes them suitable for many applications, including approximation algorithms, game theory (as functions modeling user preferences) and electrical networks. Recently, submodular functions have also found immense utility in several real world problems in machine learning and artificial intelligence, including automatic summarization, multi-document summarization, feature selection, active learning, sensor placement, image collection summarization and many other domains. Definition If \Omega is a finite set, a submodular function is a set function f:2^\rightarrow \mathbb, where 2^\Omega denotes the power set of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudo-Boolean Function
In mathematics and optimization, a pseudo-Boolean function is a function (mathematics), function of the form :f: \mathbf^n \to \R, where is a ''Boolean domain'' and is a nonnegative integer called the arity of the function. A Boolean function is then a special case, where the values are also restricted to 0 or 1. Representations Any pseudo-Boolean function can be written uniquely as a multi-linear polynomial: :f(\boldsymbol) = a + \sum_i a_ix_i + \sum_a_x_ix_j + \sum_a_x_ix_jx_k + \ldots The degree of the pseudo-Boolean function is simply the degree of the polynomial in this representation. In many settings (e.g., in Analysis of Boolean functions, Fourier analysis of pseudo-Boolean functions), a pseudo-Boolean function is viewed as a function f that maps \^n to \mathbb. Again in this case we can uniquely write f as a multi-linear polynomial: f(x)= \sum_\hat(I)\prod_x_i, where \hat(I) are Fourier coefficients of f and [n]=\. Optimization Minimizing (or, equivalently, maxim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journal Of Economic Theory
The ''Journal of Economic Theory'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of economic theory. Karl Shell has served as editor-in-chief of the journal since it was established in 1968. Since 2000, he has shared the editorship with Jess Benhabib, Alessandro Lizzeri, Christian Hellwig, and more recently with Alessandro Pavan, Ricardo Lagos, Marciano Siniscalchi, and Xavier Vives. The journal is published by Elsevier. In 2020, Tilman Börgers was chief editor of the journal. Abstracting and indexing According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 1.458. See also *List of economics journals The following is a list of scholarly journals in economics containing most of the prominent academic journals in economics. Popular magazines or other publications related to economics, finance, or business are not listed. A *'' Affilia'' *''A ... References External links * Economics journals Elsevier academic jou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complementary Goods
In economics, a complementary good is a good whose appeal increases with the popularity of its complement. Technically, it displays a negative cross elasticity of demand and that demand for it increases when the price of another good decreases. If A is a complement to B, an increase in the price of A will result in a negative movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve for B to shift inward; less of each good will be demanded. Conversely, a decrease in the price of A will result in a positive movement along the demand curve of A and cause the demand curve of B to shift outward; more of each good will be demanded. This is in contrast to a substitute good, whose demand decreases when its substitute's price decreases. When two goods are complements, they experience ''joint demand'' - the demand of one good is linked to the demand for another good. Therefore, if a higher quantity is demanded of one good, a higher quantity will also be demanded of the other, and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utility Function
As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The term has been adapted and reapplied within neoclassical economics, which dominates modern economic theory, as a utility function that represents a single consumer's preference ordering over a choice set but is not comparable across consumers. This concept of utility is personal and based on choice rather than on pleasure received, and so is specified more rigorously than the original concept but makes it less useful (and controversial) for ethical decisions. Utility function Consider a set of alternatives among which a person can make a preference ordering. The utility obtained from these alternatives is an unknown function of the utilities obtained from each alternative, not the sum of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quarterly Journal Of Economics
''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press for the Harvard University Department of Economics. Its current editors-in-chief are Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan Nunn, Andrei Shleifer, and Stefanie Stantcheva. History It is the oldest professional journal of economics in the English language, and covers all aspects of the field—from the journal's traditional emphasis on micro-theory to both empirical and theoretical macroeconomics. Reception According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2015 impact factor of 6.662, ranking it first out of 347 journals in the category "Economics". It is generally regarded as one of the top 5 journals in economics, together with the American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, and the Review of Economic Studies. Notable papers Some of the most influential and well-read papers in economics have been published in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
