Remarks on Afriat’s theorem and the Monge–Kantorovich problem

Abstract

The famous Afriat’s theorem from the theory of revealed preferences establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of utility function for a given set of choices and prices. The result on the existence of a homogeneous utility function can be considered as a particular fact of the Monge–Kantorovich mass transportation theory. In this paper we explain this viewpoint and discuss some related questions.