Luis Coelho

This paper estimates von Neumann and Morgenstern utility functions comparing the generalized maximum entropy (GME) with OLS, using data obtained by utility elicitation methods. Thus, it provides a comparison of the performance of the two estimators in a real data small sample setup. The results confirm the ones obtained for small samples through Monte Carlo simulations. The difference between the two estimators is small and it decreases as the width of the parameter support vector increases. Moreover the GME ...

This research develops a mathematical programming model to maximize the expected utility of the farmers' wealth-producing cereals in the Alentejo dryland region of Portugal, and it is used to determine the premium rate that crop farmers are willing to pay for reducing the variability of their incomes, and the Portuguese government subsidy of the premium rate in the case where the farmer is not willing to pay the totality of this.