Affine utility on probability measures Created 2026-10-07 Updated 2026-10-14
An affine utility on probability measures functional satisfies on mixtures of probability measures. Strict preferences are represented by comparing its real values, and indifference means equal values. This is cardinal utility on lotteries rather than merely an ordinal ordering of deterministic outcomes.
Independence axiom for lottery preferences 2026-10-07
Mixing two lotteries with the same third lottery and the same positive weight preserves their strict preference order. For affine utility on probability measures, the difference of the two mixed utilities is the original difference multiplied by that weight. At weight zero the strict preference disappears, so positivity is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 44 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
An affine function preserves mixtures, soThereforeThe positive mixture weight preserves the strict sign; the common component cancels. This is the independence axiom for lottery preferences for the affine utility on probability measures.
Write and for the two deterministic outcomes. Under the expected utility hypothesis, indifference between them implies . The expected utility of the fair lottery is consequentlyIt must therefore be indifferent to each deterministic outcome, contradicting the asserted strict preference. These preferences do not admit an expected utility representation over the stated outcomes. Equivalently, affine utility on probability measures preserves this indifference under mixing, as required by the independence axiom for lottery preferences.
A concern for the fairness of the procedure can be perfectly intelligible. It would require enlarging the outcome description to include the procedure; it cannot be represented by an expected utility over only the two final gift recipients while retaining the stated strict preference.