2019/05/08 by Christopher P. Chambers, Chambers, Christopher P., Federico Echenique +1 · 1 citation
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #62P20 #91B02 #Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics #Economic and Environmental Valuation #Economic theories and models #FOS: Economics and business #Theoretical Economics (econ.TH)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1905.02917
openalex publication_date 2019/05/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We introduce and study the property of orthogonal independence, a restricted additivity axiom applying when alternatives are orthogonal. The axiom requires that the preference for one marginal change over another should be maintained after each marginal change has been shifted in a direction that is orthogonal to both. We show that continuous preferences satisfy orthogonal independence if and only if they are spherical: their indifference curves are spheres with the same center, with preference being "monotone" either away or towards the center. Spherical preferences include linear preferences as a special (limiting) case. We discuss different applications to economic and political environments. Our result delivers Euclidean preferences in models of spatial voting, quadratic welfare aggregation in social choice, and expected utility in models of choice under uncertainty.