Division of the Humanities

and Social Sciences

Monotonicity and local nonsatiation

KC Border
April 2009
v. 2015.11.11::14.17

While there are clearly preference relations that are locally nonsatiated but not monotonic,
from the point of view of competitive demand theory, local nonsatiation is no more general
than monotonicity. By this I mean that if ≽ is a locally nonsatiated upper semicontinuous
preference, then there is a monotonic preference ≽ ∗ that generates the same demand.

Let there be n commodities, so the neoclassical consumption set is Rn+ , the set of nonnegative
vectors in Rn . A preference is a reflexive, transitive, total binary relation ≽ on Rn+ . The
corresponding strict preference is denoted ≻. The preference ≽ is locally nonsatiated if for
each x ∈ Rn+ and ε > 0, there is some y ∈ Rn+ such that d(x, y) < ε 1 and y ≻ x. The preference
≽ is monotonic if x ≫ y implies x ≻ y.2 Clearly every monotonic preference relation is locally
nonsatiated. A preference is upper semicontinuous if for each x, the upper contour set
{y ∈ Rn+ : y ≽ x} is closed, or equivalently the strict lower contour set {y ∈ Rn+ : x ≻ y}
is relatively open in Rn+ . The preference ≽ is convex if for each y, the upper contour set
{x ∈ Rn+ : x ≽ y} is convex.
Given a price vector p ∈ Rn++ and income level w > 0, the budget set β(p, w) is the
compact convex set {x ∈ Rn+ : p · x ⩽ w}. It is a fact that if ≽ is upper semicontinuous,
then every compact set has a ≽-greatest element; and if ≽ is locally nonsatiated, then every
≽-greatest element x∗ in β(p, w) satisfies p · x∗ = w.
To simplify the explicit description of the desired monotonic relation, let us introduce the
following notation. Given a set A,
( )[ ]
x ≽ A means ∀z ∈ A x≽z

and let
D(x) = {y ∈ Rn+ : 0 ≦ y ≦ x}.
Note that D(x) is nonempty for x ∈ Rn+ as it always contains x.

1 Proposition Let ≽ be a locally nonsatiated and upper semicontinuous regular preference

∗ on Rn defined by
on Rn+ . Then the binary relation ≽ +

∗
x≽ y if there exists v ∈ Rn+ such that x ≧ v ≽ D(y)

is a monotonic upper semicontinuous preference relation that generates the same demand as ≽
∗ is convex.
for all (p, w) ∈ Rn++ × R+ . Moreover, if ≽ is convex, then ≽
1
Here d denotes the usual Euclidean metric.
2
The partial order ≧ on Rn+ is defined by x ≧ y if xi ⩾ yi for i = 1, . . . , n. The partial order ≫ is defined by
x ≫ y if xi > yi for i = 1, . . . , n. The partial order > is defined by x > y if x ≧ y and x ̸= y. The nonnegative
orthant is Rn+ = {x ∈ Rn : x ≧ 0}, and the strictly positive orthant is Rn++ = {x ∈ Rn : x ≫ 0}.

1
KC Border Monotonicity and local nonsatiation 2

Proof : For y ∈ Rn+ , define µ(y) to be the set of ≽-greatest elements of D(y). That is,

µ(y) = {x ∈ D(y) : x ≽ D(y)}.

Note that for each y the set D(y) is compact, and since ≽ is upper semicontinuous, the set µ(y)
is nonempty. Note that x ≽ ∗ y if and only if there exist v ≦ x and u ∈ µ(y) with v ≽ u.

First we show that ≽∗ is

∗ x.
i. reflexive: Let u ∈ µ(x). Then x ≧ u ≽ D(x), so x ≽

ii. transitive: Assume x ≽∗ y and y ≽∗ z. Then there exist v , v , u , and u such that
y z y z
x ≧ vy ≽ uy ∈ µ(y) and y ≧ vz ≽ uz ∈ µ(z).
∗ z.
Since y ≧ vz and uy ≽ D(y) we have uy ≽ vz . Thus x ≧ vy ≽ uy ≽ vz ≽ D(z), so x ≽

̸ ∗ y, then by definition, for every 0 ≦ u ≦ x, there is some 0 ≦ v ≦ y with

iii. total: If x ≽
v ≻ u.
Let u∗ ∈ µ(x), and let v ∗ ≦ y satisfy v ∗ ≻ u∗ . Thus y ≧ v ∗ ≻ u∗ ≽ D(x). Thus y ≽
∗ x.

∗ , the asymmetric part of ≽

This also proves that ≻ ∗ , satisfies

∗ ( )[ ]
y≻ x if and only if ∃v y ≧ v ≻ D(x) .

Next we show that ≽ ∗ is monotonic, that is, if x ≫ y, then x ≻

∗ y. So assume x ≫ y and let

z ∈ µ(y) ⊂ D(y), so x ≫ z. Then for ε > 0 small enough, d(v, z) < ε implies x ≫ v. By local
nonsatiation, at least one such v satisfies v ≻ z ≽ D(y). Thus x ≫ z ≻ D(y), so x ≻ ∗ y.

To see that ≽ ∗ is upper semicontinuous, I shall prove that if y ≻

∗ x, then there is an ε > 0
′ ∗ ′ ∗
such that d(x, x ) < ε implies y ≻ x too. So assume y ≻ x. Then there exists v(≦ y such that
)
v ≻ D(x). Since D(x) is compact, I( claim) there is some ε > 0 such that v ≻ Nε D(x) .3 Then
if d(x, x′ ) < ε, we have D(x′ ) ⊂ Nε D(x) too, so v ≻ D(x′ ). But this implies y ≻ ∗ x′ .

Finally we show that for p ≫ 0, a point x∗ is ≽-greatest in β(p, w) if and only if x∗ is also
∗ -greatest.
≽
Assume first that x∗ is ≽-greatest in β(p, w). Let y ∈ β(p, w). Then D(y) ⊂ β(p, w), so
x∗≧ x∗ ≽ D(y). Thus x∗ ≽ ∗ y. Therefore x∗ is ≽
∗ -greatest in β(p, w).

Now assume that x is ≽-greatest in β(p, w), and let x̄ be ≽-greatest. Since x∗ ≽
∗ ∗ ∗ x̄ there is

some u ≦ x∗ with u ≽ D(x̄). In particular, u ≽ x̄ ∈ D(x̄), so u too is ≽-greatest. But by local

nonsatiation p · u = w, so u ≦ x∗ ∈ β(p, w) implies u = x∗ , so x∗ is also ≽-greatest.
∗ is convex if ≽ is convex, let x, x′ ≽
To see that ≽ ∗ y, where x ≧ v ≽ D(y) and let x′ ≧ v ′ ≽

D(y). Then (1 − λ)x + λx′ ≧ (1 − λ)v + λv ′ and assuming ≽ is convex, (1 − λ)v + λv ′ ≽ D(y).
Thus (1 − λ)x + λx′ ≽∗ y.

3
{ ( )[ ]}
Here Nε (A) denotes the ε-neighborhood of A, that is, x : ∃y ∈ A d(x, y) < ε . It is an open set being
the union of the open balls of radius ε centered on points of A. To see why this claim is true, let F denote the
closed upper contour set {u : u ≽ v}. Then the distance function d(z, F ) = inf{d(z, u) : u ∈ F } is (Lipschitz)
continuous and so achieves its minimum over the compact set D(x). Since F and D(x) are disjoint closed sets
this minimum is strictly greater than zero. Choose ε > 0 less than this minimum.

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KC Border Monotonicity and local nonsatiation 3

Figure 1. Indifference curves for locally nonsatiated utility u(x, y) = y − (1 − x)2 and monotone
utility with same demand.

2 Remark Finally, let u be an upper semicontinuous utility function representing the pref-
erence ≽. (Such a utility exists, see Richter [2].) Its monotonic hull v is defined by
v(x) = max{u(y) : 0 ≦ y ≦ x}, and is the smallest monotonic function that dominates u.
The Berge Maximum Theorem implies that v is upper semicontinuous.4 It is easy to see that
∗.
v represents ≽

3 Example Consider the quasilinear utility function for two goods x and y defined by

u(x, y) = y − (1 − x)2

which gives a linear demand function for x. It is locally nonsatiated but not monotone. It has
the property that the demand for x never exceeds 1 unit. It has the same demand behavior as
the monotone utility 
y − (1 − x)2 x⩽1
v(x, y) =
 y x⩾1
which is its monotonic hull. See Figure 1. □

References
[1] Aliprantis, C. D. and K. C. Border. 2006. Infinite dimensional analysis: A hitchhiker’s
guide, 3d. ed. Berlin: Springer–Verlag.

[2] Richter, M. K. 1980. Continuous and semi-continuous utility. International Economic

Review 21:293–299.

4
The correspondence y 7↠ D(y) is compact-valued and upper hemicontinuous, so the upper hemicontinuous
half of the Berge Maximum Theorem (see, e.g., [1, Lemma 17.30, p. 569] implies that v, which is the optimal
value function for maximizing u over D(y) is upper semicontinuous.

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