We consider the problem of selecting envy-free allocations in economies with indivisible objects and qusi-linear utility functions. We study the set of envy-free allocations for these economies and characterize the minimal amount of money necessary for its nonemptiness when negative distributions of money are not allowed. We also find that, when this is precisely the available amount of money, there is a unique way to combine objects and money such that these bundles may form an envy-free allocation. Based on this property, we propose a solution that selects a unique utility profile for any economy. When there is more money than is needed to solve the envy-free problem, our solution allocates it equally and we retain the uniqueness of the utility profile. Among the properties satisfied by this solution we find that it is invariant with respect to shifts in the utility scale of any agent, not obviously manipulable and can be computed by a polynomincal-bounded algorithm. We show that when some agents leave the economy, the sent of envy-free allocations for the new economy may offer new possible combinations of objects and money. Based on this, we argue that one should not expect a solution to this selection problem to satisfy any property related to consistency, as has been suggested in the literature.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science in its series Discussion Papers with number
984.
Length: Date of creation: Apr 1992 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nwu:cmsems:984
Contact details of provider: Postal: Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science, Northwestern University, 580 Jacobs Center, 2001 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208-2014 Phone: 847/491-3527 Fax: 847/491-2530 Email: Web page: http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/math/ More information through EDIRC
Order Information: Email:
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Fran Walker).
Related research
Keywords:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: