arXiv subjects

Ram Sewak Dubey

Publications and source records attributed to Ram Sewak Dubey.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Social Welfare Function Satisfying Anonymity and Almost Weak Pareto

We study the existence of real-valued social welfare functions (SWFs) on the set of infinite utility streams that satisfy anonymity and almost weak Pareto. We characterize the domains of one-period utilities, $Y\subset \mathbb{R}$, for which such SWFs exist. We show that an SWF satisfying these two axioms exists if and only if $Y$ contains no subset that is order-isomorphic to the set of negative and positive integers. Thus, the restrictions on $Y$ required for the existence of an SWF satisfying anonymity and almost weak Pareto coincide with those required for an SWF satisfying anonymity and weak Pareto. Moreover, the SWF we construct is invariant under arbitrary permutations and satisfies stationarity, two properties that are particularly useful for decision making in infinite-horizon economies.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2026

On the construction and representation of social welfare orders satisfying consequentialist equity axioms

In this paper we examine the constructive nature of social welfare orders on infinite utility streams $X=Y^{\mathbb{N}}$ satisfying Strong Equity, Hammond Equity, or the Pigou--Dalton transfer principle. The constructive social welfare orders are described using lexicographic preference relations. Social welfare orders satisfying Strong Equity, Hammond Equity, or the Pigou--Dalton transfer principle admit explicit descriptions when $Y(<)$ is well-ordered. We describe restrictions on the domain $Y$ under which the existence of social welfare orders satisfying the aforementioned equity axioms entails the existence of a non-Ramsey collection. For this, we rely on the existence of a non-Ramsey collection, which is treated here as a nonconstructive object.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2026

Raising Rivals' Costs on Hybrid Platforms: The Complementarity of Fees and Self-Preferencing

Hybrid platforms disadvantage third-party sellers through the platform fee and self-preferencing, and regulators have worried that constraining either instrument may intensify the other. We model a platform that chooses both instruments and find the opposite: single-instrument regulation is effective because the instruments are strategic complements, and regulating either instrument curbs the other. We also find that the two instruments achieve what monopolization achieves, higher prices and reduced consumer welfare, while passing every conventional antitrust test.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2026

Price Cap vs. Per-Unit Subsidies: Selection, Pricing, and Cross Subsidization

We evaluate subsidy mechanisms in the FCC's Rural Health Care program using administrative data covering the full population of participants. The original price-cap mechanism removes cost-containment incentives for health care providers. An ad valorem mechanism introduced in 2014 addresses this flaw by making providers bear 35% of costs. However, allowing consortium applications creates a new distortion: cross-subsidization from eligible to ineligible members. We develop theoretical models predicting these effects and estimate treatment effects using an extension of the two-way fixed effects framework with continuous treatments. We find that the ad valorem mechanism substantially reduces program spending relative to the price cap, while the consortium option significantly inflates it. Enforcement records and an inverted U-shaped relationship between cross-subsidization intensity and ineligible member share corroborate the findings.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2023

Decision-making under risk: when is utility maximization equivalent to risk minimization?

Motivated by the analysis of a general optimal portfolio selection problem, which encompasses as special cases an optimal consumption and an optimal debt-arrangement problem, we are concerned with the questions of how a personality trait like risk-perception can be formalized and whether the two objectives of utility-maximization and risk-minimization can be both achieved simultaneously. We address these questions by developing an axiomatic foundation of preferences for which utility-maximization is equivalent to minimizing a utility-based shortfall risk measure. Our axiomatization hinges on a novel axiom in decision theory, namely the risk-perception axiom.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2023

Price dispersion across online platforms: Evidence from hotel room prices in London (UK)

This paper studies the widespread price dispersion of homogeneous products across different online platforms, even when consumers can easily access price information from comparison websites. We collect data for the 200 most popular hotels in London (UK) and document that prices vary widely across booking sites while making reservations for a hotel room. Additionally, we find that prices listed across different platforms tend to converge as the booking date gets closer to the date of stay. However, the price dispersion persists until the date of stay, implying that the "law of one price" does not hold. We present a simple theoretical model to explain this and show that in the presence of aggregate demand uncertainty and capacity constraints, price dispersion could exist even when products are homogeneous, consumers are homogeneous, all agents have perfect information about the market structure, and consumers face no search costs to acquire information about the products. Our theoretical intuition and robust empirical evidence provide additional insights into price dispersion across online platforms in different institutional settings. Our study complements the existing literature that relies on consumer search costs to explain the price dispersion phenomenon.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2022

Monetary policy and the racial wage gap

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between monetary policy shocks and wage inequality. We emphasize the relevance of within and between wage group inequalities in explaining total wage inequality in the United States. Relying on the quarterly data for the period 2000-2020, our analysis shows that racial disparities explain 12\% of observed total wage inequality. Subsequently, we examine the role of monetary policy in wage inequality. We do not find compelling evidence that shows that monetary policy plays a role in exacerbating the racial wage gap. However, there is evidence that accommodative monetary policy plays a role in magnifying between group wage inequalities but the impact occurs after 2008.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2022

Inflation and income inequality: Does the level of income inequality matter?

In the recent times of global Covid pandemic, the Federal Reserve has raised the concerns of upsurges in prices. Given the complexity of interaction between inflation and inequality, we examine whether the impact of inflation on inequality differs among distinct levels of income inequality across the US states. Results reveal that there is a negative contemporaneous effect of inflation on the inequality which becomes stronger with higher levels of income inequality. However, over a one year period, we find higher inflation rate to further increase income inequality only when income inequality is initially relatively low.

econ.GN↗

arXiv2022

How rare are the properties of binary relations?

Knoblauch (2014) and Knoblauch (2015) investigate the relative size of the collection of binary relations with desirable features as compared to the set of all binary relations using symmetric difference metric (Cantor) topology and Hausdorff metric topology. We consider Ellentuck and doughnut topologies to further this line of investigation. We report the differences among the size of the useful binary relations in Cantor, Ellentuck and doughnut topologies. It turns out that the doughnut topology admits binary relations with more general properties in contrast to the other two. We further prove that among the induced Cantor and Ellentuck topologies, the latter captures the relative size of partial orders among the collection of all quasi-orders. Finally we show that the class of ethical binary relations is small in Ellentuck (and therefore in Cantor) topology but is not small in doughnut topology. In essence, the Ellentuck topology fares better compared to Cantor topology in capturing the relative size of collections of binary relations.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2021

Extended Gini Index

We propose an extended version of Gini index defined on the set of infinite utility streams, $X=Y^\mathbb{N}$ where $Y\subset \mathbb{R}$. For $Y$ containing at most finitely many elements, the index satisfies the generalized Pigou-Dalton transfer principles in addition to the anonymity axiom.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2021

On social welfare orders satisfying anonymity and asymptotic density-one Pareto

We study the nature (i.e., constructive as opposed to non-constructive) of social welfare orders on infinite utility streams, and their representability by means of real-valued functions. We assume finite anonymity and introduce a new efficiency concept we refer to as asymptotic density-one Pareto. We characterize the existence of representable and constructive social welfare orders (satisfying the above properties) in terms of easily verifiable conditions on the feasible set of one-period utilities.

econ.TH↗

arXiv2020

Paretian social welfare relations and Baire property

We study the topological and set-theoretical nature of Paretian social welfare relations in a setting with infinite time horizon. Specifically, we answer questions posed in \citet{mathias2020} about the interplay between total welfare relations satisfying Pareto and anonymity principles with subsets of real numbers not satisfying the Baire property.

math.LO↗

arXiv2020

Social welfare relations and irregular sets

Total social welfare relations satisfying Pareto and equity principles on infinite utility streams has revealed a non-constructive nature. In this paper we study more deeply the needed fragment of AC. In particular, we show that such relations need a strictly larger fragment of AC than non-Lebesgue and non-Ramsey sets. We also prove a connection with the Baire property, answering Problem 11.14 posed in "Flutters and chameleon", by Mathias et al.

math.LO↗

arXiv2020

On the Representation and Construction of Equitable Social Welfare Orders

This paper examines the representation and explicit description of social welfare orders on infinite utility streams. It is assumed that the social welfare orders under investigation satisfy upper asymptotic Pareto and anonymity axioms. We prove that there exists no real-valued representation of such social welfare orders. In addition, we establish that the existence of a social welfare order satisfying the anonymity and upper asymptotic Pareto axioms implies the existence of a non-Ramsey set, which is a non-constructive object. Thus, we conclude that the social welfare orders under study do not admit explicit description.

math.LO↗