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題名 A Proof of the Existence of Diminishing Marginal Benefit Under Ordinal Inter-Domain Marginal Preferences
作者 曾正男
Tzeng, Jengnan
貢獻者 應數系
關鍵詞 Diminishing marginal utility; diminishing marginal benefit; normal goods; inferior goods; Giffen goods; addiction-like goods; Veblen-like goods; ordinal inter-domain marginal preference (OIMP) theory
日期 2026-08
上傳時間 1-Sep-2026 16:19:41 (UTC+8)
摘要 Ordinal utility theory cannot meaningfully accommodate the concept of diminishing marginal utility (DMU) due to the sign indeterminacy of second derivatives under monotonic transformations. While cardinal utility theory could restore DMU, it relies on measurability assumptions that are generally regarded as unacceptable in modern microeconomics. This paper proposes an alternative framework based on ordinal inter-domain marginal preference (OIMP) theory, in which preferences are defined through marginal exchange relations rather than total utility over bundles. Within this framework, we establish a rigorous connection between the geometry of iso-marginal preference curves (IMPC) and the behavior of marginal benefit. We prove that diminishing marginal benefit (DMB) arises under simple conditions characterized by the slope of the IMPC and the configuration of exchange preference regions. The results show that most standard goods — including normal, inferior, and Giffen goods — exhibit diminishing marginal behavior in a purely ordinal setting, while deviations arise only for specific cases such as addiction-like and Veblen-like goods. The OIMP framework thus provides a complete foundation for economic analysis, preserving DMU while revealing its structural origin.
關聯 New Mathematics and Natural Computation, pp.1-21
資料類型 article
DOI https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793005728500780
dc.contributor 應數系
dc.creator (作者) 曾正男
dc.creator (作者) Tzeng, Jengnan
dc.date (日期) 2026-08
dc.date.accessioned 1-Sep-2026 16:19:41 (UTC+8)-
dc.date.available 1-Sep-2026 16:19:41 (UTC+8)-
dc.date.issued (上傳時間) 1-Sep-2026 16:19:41 (UTC+8)-
dc.identifier.uri (URI) https://ah.lib.nccu.edu.tw/item?item_id=184681-
dc.description.abstract (摘要) Ordinal utility theory cannot meaningfully accommodate the concept of diminishing marginal utility (DMU) due to the sign indeterminacy of second derivatives under monotonic transformations. While cardinal utility theory could restore DMU, it relies on measurability assumptions that are generally regarded as unacceptable in modern microeconomics. This paper proposes an alternative framework based on ordinal inter-domain marginal preference (OIMP) theory, in which preferences are defined through marginal exchange relations rather than total utility over bundles. Within this framework, we establish a rigorous connection between the geometry of iso-marginal preference curves (IMPC) and the behavior of marginal benefit. We prove that diminishing marginal benefit (DMB) arises under simple conditions characterized by the slope of the IMPC and the configuration of exchange preference regions. The results show that most standard goods — including normal, inferior, and Giffen goods — exhibit diminishing marginal behavior in a purely ordinal setting, while deviations arise only for specific cases such as addiction-like and Veblen-like goods. The OIMP framework thus provides a complete foundation for economic analysis, preserving DMU while revealing its structural origin.
dc.format.extent 105 bytes-
dc.format.mimetype text/html-
dc.relation (關聯) New Mathematics and Natural Computation, pp.1-21
dc.subject (關鍵詞) Diminishing marginal utility; diminishing marginal benefit; normal goods; inferior goods; Giffen goods; addiction-like goods; Veblen-like goods; ordinal inter-domain marginal preference (OIMP) theory
dc.title (題名) A Proof of the Existence of Diminishing Marginal Benefit Under Ordinal Inter-Domain Marginal Preferences
dc.type (資料類型) article
dc.identifier.doi (DOI) 10.1142/S1793005728500780
dc.doi.uri (DOI) https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793005728500780