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Roy's identity

Roy's identity is a fundamental theorem in microeconomic theory, named after the French economist René Roy, who derived it in his 1947 paper analyzing the distribution of across goods, though a similar result was first obtained by Antonelli in 1886. It establishes a direct relationship between the v(\mathbf{p}, m)—which represents the maximum utility a consumer can achieve given prices \mathbf{p} and m—and the Marshallian (uncompensated) functions x_i(\mathbf{p}, m) for each good i. Specifically, under standard assumptions of differentiability and a non-zero marginal utility of , Roy's identity states that x_i(\mathbf{p}, m) = -\frac{\partial v(\mathbf{p}, m)/\partial p_i}{\partial v(\mathbf{p}, m)/\partial m}, allowing economists to recover functions directly from the . This identity emerges from the envelope theorem applied to the consumer's utility maximization problem subject to the budget constraint, where the partial derivative of the indirect utility with respect to a price reflects the utility loss from that price change, scaled by the demand quantity and the shadow price of the budget (the marginal utility of income). Roy's identity is a cornerstone of duality theory in consumer choice, enabling the consistent derivation of structural relationships between direct and indirect representations of preferences, and it ensures that the indirect utility function satisfies key properties like homogeneity and monotonicity when demands do. Its derivation and properties are rigorously detailed in standard microeconomic texts, confirming its role in bridging expenditure minimization and utility maximization frameworks. Beyond theoretical foundations, Roy's identity has broad applications in empirical and . It facilitates the estimation of systems from observable data on expenditures and prices, often simplifying econometric models by parameterizing the rather than demands directly. In and , it underpins derivations of optimal commodity ation rules, such as the Ramsey rule, which prescribes tax rates inversely proportional to the elasticity of to minimize for a given revenue target. These applications extend to evaluating consumer surplus changes from price reforms and analyzing firm behavior under , highlighting Roy's identity's enduring influence in modern economic research.

Introduction

Definition and Intuition

Roy's identity is a fundamental result in microeconomic theory that establishes a direct relationship between the and the Marshallian demand functions derived from utility maximization. Specifically, it states that the demand for good i, denoted x_i(p, I), can be obtained from the indirect utility function v(p, I) as x_i(p, I) = -\frac{\partial v / \partial p_i}{\partial v / \partial I}, where p represents the of prices and I is the consumer's income. This identity allows economists to recover observable demand behavior from the underlying utility representation, facilitating analysis in both theoretical and empirical contexts. The economic intuition behind Roy's identity lies in the theorem's implications for optimization problems. The \partial v / \partial p_i captures the marginal disutility from an increase in the price of good i, reflecting and effects on the consumer's welfare, while \partial v / \partial I measures the of , which scales the overall responsiveness to changes in resources. By taking their (with a negative sign to account for the cost increase), the identity reveals how demand balances price-induced trade-offs against effects, providing a concise way to link maximal attainment to quantity choices without solving the full optimization explicitly. This perspective underscores the duality between direct and indirect approaches to , where the indirect encodes the solution to the expenditure-constrained maximization problem. Beyond , Roy's identity has a dual application in , where analogous relationships derive demands and output supplies from the indirect profit function under cost minimization or . On the side, it similarly connects marginal changes in profits with respect to input prices or output prices to optimal input demands, mirroring the case but framed in terms of and costs.

Historical Background

Roy's identity derives its name from the René Roy (1894–1977), who independently derived and empirically applied the identity in his 1947 paper analyzing the allocation of across various goods using empirical household budget data from , though the core mathematical relationship was first derived by Antonello Antonelli in 1886. In this work, Roy examined statistical patterns of expenditure to model , providing an early empirical foundation for linking to consumption choices. Roy's analysis built upon earlier theoretical frameworks of in the economic context of post-World War II , where the country was grappling with reconstruction efforts, and his study contributed to understanding how limited resources influenced household spending patterns amid and policy reforms. Although Roy's contribution appeared before the widespread formalization of indirect utility functions in economic theory, it was retroactively identified as a crucial bridge in duality relationships during the revival of microeconomic duality theory. Economists like and W. Erwin Diewert highlighted its significance in their advancements, integrating it into rigorous frameworks for deriving demand systems from utility maximization problems. This recognition elevated Roy's identity from an empirical insight to a of modern and theory.

Theoretical Foundations

Prerequisite Concepts

In microeconomic theory, the foundation for analyzing consumer behavior begins with the , where a consumer seeks to maximize their function u(x) subject to the p \cdot x \leq I. Here, x \in \mathbb{R}^n_+ represents the of quantities of n goods consumed, p \in \mathbb{R}^n_+ is the of prices, and I > 0 denotes the consumer's . Assuming the function u is continuous, strictly increasing, and quasi-concave, the solution to this problem yields the Marshallian demand functions x(p, I), which describe the optimal consumption bundle as a function of prices and . The captures the maximum attainable utility from this optimization: v(p, I) = \max_{x} u(x) subject to p \cdot x \leq I. This function is increasing in I, non-increasing in each p_i, and homogeneous of degree zero in (p, I), meaning v(\lambda p, \lambda I) = v(p, I) for \lambda > 0. These properties arise from the underlying preferences and constraints, ensuring that scaling prices and income proportionally does not alter the achievable utility level. Dually, the expenditure minimization problem seeks the minimum cost to achieve a target utility level: e(p, u) = \min_{x} p \cdot x subject to u(x) \geq u, where u is the desired utility. The expenditure function e(p, u) is concave and homogeneous of degree one in prices p, non-decreasing in u, and non-decreasing in each p_i. Its partial derivative with respect to price p_i gives the Hicksian (compensated) demand h_i(p, u) = \frac{\partial e(p, u)}{\partial p_i}, a result known as Shephard's lemma, which holds under differentiability assumptions. The indirect and expenditure functions form conjugates through duality theory, satisfying the relations e(p, v(p, I)) = I and v(p, e(p, u)) = u. This duality links the primal maximization and dual expenditure minimization problems, allowing recovery of one function from the other and facilitating analysis of behavior across price and income changes.

Relation to

Shephard's lemma provides a foundational result in duality theory, stating that the Hicksian demand for good i, denoted h_i(p, u), equals the of the e(p, u) with respect to the price p_i: h_i(p, u) = \frac{\partial e(p, u)}{\partial p_i}. This lemma links compensated demands directly to the gradients of the , which minimizes the cost of achieving a fixed level u at prices p. Roy's identity serves as the dual counterpart to in consumer theory, deriving the Marshallian (uncompensated) demand x_i(p, I) from the v(p, I), which maximizes utility subject to a with income I. While recovers Hicksian demands from the , Roy's identity recovers Marshallian demands from the ; together, these identities facilitate the complete recovery of demand systems through duality theory, allowing transitions between primal and dual representations of preferences. The mathematical connection between the two identities arises from the duality relation I = e(p, v(p, I)), which equates to the expenditure required to achieve the maximized level. This bridges uncompensated and compensated demands, enabling the to decompose price effects into substitution (Hicksian) and components, with providing the substitution term. In producer theory, Shephard's lemma extends analogously to cost-minimizing input demands z(p, y) = \nabla_p c(p, y), where c(p, y) is the cost function for output y at input prices p. Roy's identity finds a parallel in the profit-maximizing output supplies derived from the indirect profit function, maintaining symmetry between cost minimization and profit maximization under duality. A key distinction lies in the role of income effects: Roy's identity incorporates them through the term \partial v / \partial I in its formulation, reflecting the budget constraint's influence on uncompensated demands, whereas Shephard's lemma, focused on compensated demands, excludes such effects entirely.

Mathematical Derivation

Standard Proof

Roy's identity establishes a relationship between the and the , derived directly from the first-order conditions of the 's . Consider a with a continuously differentiable, strictly quasi-concave function u(x) defined over the bundle x \in \mathbb{R}^n_+, who maximizes subject to the p \cdot x = I, where p > 0 is the price vector and I > 0 is . The is defined as v(p, I) = u(x^*(p, I)), where x^*(p, I) is the optimal solving the maximization problem. To derive the identity, form the for the optimization: \mathcal{L}(x, \lambda) = u(x) + \lambda (I - p \cdot x), with first-order conditions (FOCs) given by \frac{\partial u}{\partial x_j}(x^*) = \lambda p_j for each good j = 1, \dots, n, and the p \cdot x^* = I, where \lambda(p, I) > 0 is the representing the of . Differentiate the with respect to I: \frac{\partial v}{\partial I} = \sum_{i=1}^n \frac{\partial u}{\partial x_i} \frac{\partial x_i^*}{\partial I}. Using the FOCs \frac{\partial u}{\partial x_i} = \lambda p_i, this simplifies to \lambda \sum_{i=1}^n p_i \frac{\partial x_i^*}{\partial I}. Differentiating the with respect to I (holding prices fixed) gives \sum_{i=1}^n p_i \frac{\partial x_i^*}{\partial I} = 1, so \frac{\partial v}{\partial I} = \lambda(p, I). Now differentiate v(p, I) with respect to the price of good i, p_i: \frac{\partial v}{\partial p_i} = \sum_{j=1}^n \frac{\partial u}{\partial x_j} \frac{\partial x_j^*}{\partial p_i}. Substituting the FOCs yields \sum_{j=1}^n \lambda p_j \frac{\partial x_j^*}{\partial p_i} = \lambda \sum_{j=1}^n p_j \frac{\partial x_j^*}{\partial p_i}. Differentiating the with respect to p_i (holding income fixed) gives \sum_{j=1}^n p_j \frac{\partial x_j^*}{\partial p_i} + x_i^* = 0, so \sum_{j=1}^n p_j \frac{\partial x_j^*}{\partial p_i} = -x_i^*. Thus, \frac{\partial v}{\partial p_i} = \lambda (-x_i^*) = -\lambda(p, I) x_i^*(p, I). Combining these results, the Marshallian demand for good i is x_i^*(p, I) = -\frac{\partial v / \partial p_i}{\partial v / \partial I}, since \lambda cancels in the ratio. This holds under the assumptions of continuous differentiability of u and v, strict quasi-concavity of u ensuring a unique interior solution, and positive prices and income.

Alternative Proof via Envelope Theorem

The envelope theorem provides a streamlined approach to deriving Roy's identity by focusing on the direct effects of parameter changes in optimization problems, without needing to compute indirect effects through endogenous variables. Consider the indirect utility function v(p, I) = \max_x u(x) subject to the budget constraint p \cdot x \leq I, where u(x) is the utility function, p is the price vector, I is income, and x is the consumption bundle. The Lagrangian for this problem is \mathcal{L}(x, \lambda; p, I) = u(x) + \lambda (I - p \cdot x). By the envelope theorem, the partial derivative of the value function with respect to a price p_i evaluated at the optimum x^* is \frac{\partial v}{\partial p_i} = \frac{\partial \mathcal{L}}{\partial p_i} \big|_{x^*, \lambda^*} = -x_i^* \lambda^*, where \lambda^* is the optimal Lagrange multiplier representing the marginal utility of income. Applying the envelope theorem further to the income parameter yields \frac{\partial v}{\partial I} = \lambda^*, the marginal utility of income at the optimum. Substituting this into the previous expression gives \frac{\partial v}{\partial p_i} = -x_i^* \frac{\partial v}{\partial I}, or rearranging, x_i^*(p, I) = -\frac{\partial v / \partial p_i}{\partial v / \partial I}, which is precisely Roy's identity linking Marshallian demands to gradients of the . This derivation bypasses the full differentiation of the first-order conditions required in the standard proof, offering a more efficient path. The primary advantage of this envelope theorem-based proof is that it avoids explicitly solving for the comparative statics dx/dp from the system of first-order conditions, making it particularly valuable for broader comparative statics analyses in parameterized optimization problems beyond consumer theory. This approach extends analogously to the producer side via Hotelling's lemma: for the indirect profit function \pi(p_w, p_o), input demands satisfy x_j^* = -\frac{\partial \pi}{\partial p_{w j}} and output supplies y_i^* = \frac{\partial \pi}{\partial p_{o i}}. The assumptions underlying this proof mirror those of the standard derivation—continuously differentiable or profit functions, strict quasi-concavity for unique optima, and linear budget or production constraints—but additionally require interior solutions to ensure the envelope conditions hold without complications.

Applications and Extensions

In

Roy's identity plays a central role in the estimation of systems by enabling the derivation of Marshallian functions from an estimated , which simplifies empirical implementation and allows for tests of theoretical consistency such as homogeneity, symmetry, and adding-up restrictions derived from maximization. In flexible functional forms like the translog model, applying Roy's identity to a quadratic logarithmic specification of the indirect yields a system of budget share equations that capture nonlinear Engel curves and cross-price effects. Similarly, the Almost Ideal System (AIDS), developed by Deaton and Muellbauer, employs Roy's identity to generate tractable share equations from a price-index-based indirect approximation, ensuring exact aggregation across consumers while maintaining flexibility. This methodology has been extensively used in and since the 1980s to analyze expenditure patterns and evaluate structures. Beyond demand estimation, facilitates precise analysis by linking changes to impacts through the Marshallian demands it generates. Specifically, the Marshallian consumer surplus () for a change in the of good i can be computed as CS = \int_{p_i^0}^{p_i^1} -\frac{\partial v(p, I)/\partial p_i}{\partial v(p, I)/\partial I} \, dp_i, where the integrand represents the for good i. This provides a money metric of loss or gain along the Marshallian path, approximating exact measures like in multi-good settings, though it is path-dependent unless preferences are or homothetic. In policy applications, such as assessing the effects of taxes, Roy's identity supports simulations by differentiating an estimated to predict responses and aggregate costs across affected households. For instance, in evaluating a increase, researchers can trace shifts in consumption patterns and compute distributional impacts using AIDS-based estimates. Despite its , Roy's identity presupposes a continuously differentiable and invertible , with the of strictly positive; violations occur when goods are perfect substitutes, leading to non-differentiable kinks in the utility function and potential singularities in the derived demands.

In Firm Behavior

In producer theory, the indirect profit function \pi(p, w) serves as the analog to the indirect utility function in consumer theory, where p denotes the vector of output prices and w the vector of input prices. This function represents the maximized profit for a firm given prices, derived from duality principles that link the production technology to observable behavioral responses. The producer version of Roy's identity, often referred to as Hotelling's lemma, allows recovery of firm behavior from the profit function. Specifically, the input demands are given by x_j(p, w) = -\frac{\partial \pi}{\partial w_j}, while the output supply follows y_i(p, w) = \frac{\partial \pi}{\partial p_i}. These expressions stem from the envelope theorem applied to the profit maximization problem, enabling the derivation of factor demands and supplies directly from estimated profit functions without explicit specification of the underlying production function. For fixed output levels, conditional input demands can be recovered via Shephard's lemma from the cost function c(w, y), where x_j(w, y) = \frac{\partial c}{\partial w_j}. This framework finds prominent applications in estimating production frontiers, where input demands are recovered from parametric profit function estimates to infer technological parameters and efficiency. In , it has been widely used to analyze factor demands, such as labor and inputs in , by fitting flexible specifications to on farm outputs and prices. For instance, studies on farming in developing economies estimate elasticities of input demands and output supplies, revealing how price changes affect under varying market conditions. A representative example arises in duality models employing the generalized Leontief functional form for the function, where the connects observed input quantities to gradients of the cost or surfaces, facilitating tests of production hypotheses like . This approach, pioneered in flexible functional forms, ensures global regularity properties while linking empirical input observations to theoretical cost minimization. Fundamentally, the identity bridges producer duality to , which governs conditional input demands under fixed output levels via derivatives of the ; in the restricted profit setting, the partial with respect to input prices yields the negative of these demands, reinforcing the duality between and representations of firm optimization.

Generalizations

Extensions of Roy's identity have been developed for dynamic settings, particularly in life-cycle models from the onward, where time-separable functions lead to an intertemporal analog. In these frameworks, the identity relates period-specific s to derivatives of the value function with respect to prices and assets. Specifically, for good i in period t, the is given by x_{it} = -\frac{\partial V_t / \partial p_{it}}{\partial V_t / \partial A_t}, where V_t denotes the value function and A_t represents assets carried into period t. This form, derived using the , facilitates analysis of intertemporal allocation under borrowing constraints and uncertainty. In stochastic environments, such as random utility maximization () models, Roy's identity generalizes to recover choice probabilities as expected demands. The Williams-Daly-Zachary (WDZ) theorem provides the discrete-choice counterpart, stating that the probability of choosing alternative a is the of the social surplus function S(u) with respect to the deterministic utility u_a: P(a|u) = \partial S(u) / \partial u_a. For the multinomial logit model, this yields P(a|u) = \exp(u_a / \sigma) / \sum_{j} \exp(u_j / \sigma), where \sigma is the , linking observed choices directly to underlying utilities. Non-homothetic generalizations extend Roy's identity to preferences where effects vary nonlinearly across goods, often using quasi-concave functions like constant differences of (CDES). These allow derivation of Marshallian s that capture shifting expenditure shares, such as higher- households allocating more to luxuries. For instance, applying Roy's identity to a non-homothetic indirect yields demand shares s_j = a_j + \sum_k \gamma_{jk} \log(p_k) + \beta_j \log(x_h / a(p)), where \beta_j > 0 for luxuries reflects elasticity greater than one. Such forms are applied in heterogeneous models to analyze distributional effects in multisector dynamics. Despite these advances, Roy's identity has limitations in settings with quantity rationing or non-convex sets, where standard assumptions of unconstrained optimization fail. Under binding constraints, such as nonnegativity on , the identity does not hold directly, necessitating alternatives like virtual prices that adjust the to mimic unconstrained equilibria. For example, virtual prices convert rationed demands into observable equivalents via approaches, enabling consistent estimation in microeconometric systems. Similarly, non-convexities from fixed hours or taxes require evaluating direct at kinked points rather than relying on differentiable indirect . Recent developments since the integrate Roy's with nonparametric methods for flexible , particularly in heterogeneous contexts with additively separable unobservables. These approaches identify demands by applying the identity to expected indirect utilities, accommodating multiple maximizers without strong functional form assumptions. While techniques, such as deep neural networks for , show promise in estimating underlying utilities for Roy's application, empirical implementations remain emerging.

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