The basic axioms or formal conditions of decision theory, especially the ordering condition put on preferences and the axioms underlying the expected utility (EU) formula, are subject to a number of counter-examples, some of which can be endowed with normative value and thus fall within the...

Whereas many others have scrutinized the Allais paradox from a theoretical angle, we study the paradox from an historical perspective and link our findings to a suggestion as to how decision theory could make use of it today. We emphasize that Allais proposed the paradox as a normative argument,...

This is the result of an interview conducted by email exchange during the period from July 2017 to February 2018, with minor adjustments later in 2018. Apart from some personal history, topics discussed include: (i) social choice, especially with interpersonal comparisons of utility; (ii)...

Stochastic independence (SI) has a complex status in probability theory. It is not part of the definition of a probability measure, but it is nonetheless an essential property for the mathematical development of this theory, hence a property that any theory on the foundations of probability...

If Rawls's A Theory of Justice has achieved fame among economists, this is due to his Difference Principle, which says that inequalities of resources should be to the benefit of the less fortunate, or more operationally, that allocations of resources should be ranked by the maximin criterion. We...

French Abstract: Durant les années 1940-1950, la théorie néo-classique de l'entreprise a pu sembler quelquefois menacée. Certains économistes d'Oxford développent alors une doctrine du "coût total" qu'ils présentent comme antagonique du marginalisme, tandis que l'American Economic Review...

This is an expanded English summary of a French report that was prepared for the French Council of Economic Advisers (Conseil d'analyse économique). The full text French report, "Les risques majeurs et l'action publique", can be downloaded from the Council's website or from the last author's...