Econometrica: May, 1979, Volume 47, Issue 3

Ville Axioms and Consumer Theory

https://doi.org/0012-9682(197905)47:3<603:VAACT>2.0.CO;2-9
p. 603-620

Leonid Hurwicz, Marcel K. Richter

We show that a "no-cycle" condition, of a continuous type introduced by Ville, is equivalent to the Antonelli (or Slutsky) symmetry conditions, which together with other axioms is known to be a basis for constructing a utility function from expenditure data. The "no-cycle" condition is attractive because--unlike the symmetry condition--it has an evident behavioral interpretation, through which relate it to the strong axiom of revealed preference. We show, nevertheless, that the "no-cycle" condition does not imply even the weak axiom of revealed preference.