BOLKER-JEFFREY EXPECTED UTILITY-THEORY AND AXIOMATIC UTILITARIANISM

This paper introduces the Bolker-Jeffrey version of expected utility theory, which differs in several important respects from the versions commonly used by economists. Within the Bolker-Jeffrey theory, the paper proves a theorem first proved by Harsanyi: if social preferences are coherent and Paretian, and individual preferences are coherent, then social utility can be taken to be the sum of individual utilities. But the paper shows that in the Bolker-Jeffrey theory the proof requires very stringent assumptions. It assesses the significance of this fact. © 1990 The Review of Economic Studies Limited.