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In microeconomics, quasiconcave utility functions imply that consumers have convex preferences.Quasiconvex functions are important also in game theory, industrial organization, and general equilibrium theory, particularly for applications of Sion's minimax theorem.
Convex preferences with their associated convex indifference mapping arise from quasi-concave utility functions, although these are not necessary for the analysis of preferences. For example, Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) utility functions describe convex, homothetic preferences.
An important special case of concavification is where the original function is a quasiconcave function. It is known that: Every concave function is quasiconcave, but the opposite is not true. Every monotone transformation of a quasiconcave function is also quasiconcave.
A function f is concave over a convex set if and only if the function −f is a convex function over the set. The sum of two concave functions is itself concave and so is the pointwise minimum of two concave functions, i.e. the set of concave functions on a given domain form a semifield.
An increasing utility function is associated with a monotonic preference relation. Quasi-concave utility functions are associated with a convex preference order. When non-convex preferences arise, the Shapley–Folkman lemma is applicable.
A consumer's indirect utility (,) can be computed from their utility function (), defined over vectors of quantities of consumable goods, by first computing the most preferred affordable bundle, represented by the vector (,) by solving the utility maximization problem, and second, computing the utility ((,)) the consumer derives from that ...
[1]: 164 A useful property of the quasilinear utility function is that the Marshallian/Walrasian demand for , …, does not depend on wealth and is thus not subject to a wealth effect; [1]: 165–166 The absence of a wealth effect simplifies analysis [1]: 222 and makes quasilinear utility functions a common choice for modelling.
Leontief utility functions represent complementary goods. For example: For example: Suppose x 1 {\displaystyle x_{1}} is the number of left shoes and x 2 {\displaystyle x_{2}} the number of right shoes.