2022/12/22 by Navin Kartik, Kartik, Navin, Sang Mok Lee +3 · 1 citation
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies #FOS: Economics and business #Game Theory and Applications #Game Theory and Voting Systems #Theoretical Economics (econ.TH)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2212.12009
openalex publication_date 2022/12/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
An agent's preferences depend on an ordered parameter or type. We characterize the set of utility functions with single-crossing differences (SCD) in convex environments. These include preferences over lotteries, both in expected utility and rank-dependent utility frameworks, and preferences over bundles of goods and over consumption streams. Our notion of SCD does not presume an order on the choice space. This unordered SCD is necessary and sufficient for ''interval choice'' comparative statics. We present applications to cheap talk, observational learning, and collective choice, showing how convex environments arise in these problems and how SCD/interval choice are useful. Methodologically, our main characterization stems from a result on linear aggregations of single-crossing functions.