A simple proof of the nonconcavifiability of functions with linear not-all-parallel contour sets

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Mathematical Economics
Year: 2013
Volume: 49
Issue: 6
Pages: 506-508

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Consider a real-valued function that, on a convex subset of a real vector space, is continuous on line segments and has convex contour sets. Inspired by a compelling intuitive argument due to Aumann (1975), we provide a simple proof that no strictly increasing transformation of such a function can be concave unless all contour sets are parallel, i.e., unless for every pair of contour sets, either their affine hulls are disjoint or one of their affine hulls contains the other.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:mateco:v:49:y:2013:i:6:p:506-508
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29