Abstract
I investigate the role played by the combination of two invariance axioms for preferences in utility theory; namely, those of zero-independence and scale-independence, respectively. I provide a characterization of the preference relations on \({\mathbb{R}^{n}}\) that satisfy these two axioms as those which are either trivial, or what I call a two-serial total preorder on \({\mathbb{R}^{n}}\). This result is then applied in social choice theory to characterize those social welfare functions that satisfy IIA and PI. Other characterizations involving the usual Pareto concepts are also provided.
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Candeal, J.C. Invariance axioms for preferences: applications to social choice theory. Soc Choice Welf 41, 453–471 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-012-0692-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-012-0692-0