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Lattice Theory and the Consumer's Problem

Department of Economics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903
EM Lyon Business School, 69134 Ecully Cedex, France
lm8h{at}virginia.edu
ruble{at}em-lyon.com

This paper explores and explains the application of the lattice theoretic approach to classic comparative statics in consumer theory. Through examples of preferences that are not quasiconcave, or not differentiable, or not continuous, the approach is shown to characterize income effects more powerfully than the standard approach. The underlying partial order is key to applying the method. Therefore, several adapted partial orders are introduced and discussed.

Key Words: consumer's problem; income effects; superextremal
History: Received: January 19, 2006; revision received: May 21, 2007;