ARTICLES

 

Revised 004-8 considering the Harmonic Sequence "Paradox"

 

 

Robert William Vivian¹

School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

 

 

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ABSTRACT

Blavatskyy (2006) formulated a game of chance based on the harmonic series which, he suggests, leads to a St Petersburg type of paradox. In view of the importance of the St Petersburg game in decision theory, any game which leads to a St Petersburg game type paradox is of interest. Blavatskyy's game is re-examined in this article to conclude that it does not lead to a St Petersburg type paradox.

Keywords: St Petersburg paradox; harmonic series; harmonic series paradoxes; decision theory and games of chance; decision theory paradoxes; expected values

JEL C91, D81

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References

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1This article has benefited from the insightful comments of two anonymous referees. The usual disclaimers apply.