Abstract
The book-making argument was introduced by de Finetti as a principle to prove the existence and uniqueness of subjective probabilities. It has subsequently been accepted as a principle of rationality for decisions under uncertainty. This note shows that the book-making argument has relevant applications to welfare: it gives a new foundation for utilitarianism that is alternative to Harsanyi’s, it generalizes foundations based on the theorem of the alternative, and it avoids arguments based on expected utility.
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Diecidue, E. Deriving Harsanyi’s Utilitarianism from De Finetti’s Book-Making Argument. Theor Decis 61, 363–371 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-006-9019-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-006-9019-x