A utility function measures a consumer’s preference and satisfaction with different goods or services. As part of rational choice theory, it helps economists analyze how consumers make decisions to ...

Utility functions offer a means to encode objectives and preferences in investor portfolios. The functions allow one to place a score on outcomes and then identify optimal portfolios by maximizing ...

Six experiments are described that use magnitude estimation methods to characterize a nonlinear (approximately square root) utility function for money. These same methods can be used to assign ...