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How cardinal utility entered economic analysis: 1909--1944

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  • Ivan Moscati

Abstract

The paper illustrates the methodological and analytical issues that characterised, as well as the personal and institutional aspects that informed the discussions leading to the definition of the current notion of cardinal utility as utility unique up to positive linear transformations. As originally this type of utility was not called 'cardinal', the paper also investigates the terminological question of when and how the expression 'cardinal' was coupled with positive linear transformations. In opposition to existing narratives, the paper shows that cardinal utility entered economic analysis between 1909 and 1944, that is, during the ordinal revolution in utility theory.

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  • Ivan Moscati, 2013. "How cardinal utility entered economic analysis: 1909--1944," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(6), pages 906-939, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:20:y:2013:i:6:p:906-939
    DOI: 10.1080/09672567.2013.825001
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    1. Mandler, Michael, 2001. "Dilemmas in Economic Theory: Persisting Foundational Problems of Microeconomics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195145755, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dorian Jullien, 2016. "Under Uncertainty, Over Time and Regarding Other People: Rationality in 3D," GREDEG Working Papers 2016-20, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    2. Francesco GUALA, 2017. "Preferences: Neither Behavioural nor Mental," Departmental Working Papers 2017-05, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    3. Jean Baccelli & Philippe Mongin, 2016. "Choice-based cardinal utility: a tribute to Patrick Suppes," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 268-288, July.
    4. Dorian Jullien, 2018. "Under Risk, Over Time, Regarding Other People: Language and Rationality within Three Dimensions," Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, in: Including a Symposium on Latin American Monetary Thought: Two Centuries in Search of Originality, volume 36, pages 119-155, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    5. Senderski, Marcin, 2014. "Ecumenical foundations? On the coexistence of Austrian and neoclassical views on utility," MPRA Paper 67024, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Arthur E. Attema & Han Bleichrodt & Yu Gao & Zhenxing Huang & Peter P. Wakker, 2016. "Measuring Discounting without Measuring Utility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1476-1494, June.
    7. Georgios Gerasimou, 2017. "Preference intensity representation and revelation," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 201716, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews, revised 01 Jun 2019.
    8. André Lapidus, 2019. "David Hume and Rationality in Decision-Making: A Case Study on the Economic Reading of a Philosopher," Post-Print hal-01831901, HAL.
    9. Pham, Michel Tuan & Faraji-Rad, Ali & Toubia, Olivier & Lee, Leonard, 2015. "Affect as an ordinal system of utility assessment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 81-94.

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