Department of Economics2024-11-0920030165-489610.1016/S0165-4896(02)00084-72-s2.0-0038246554http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0165-4896(02)00084-7https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14288/12581We use the comparative risk behavior of the partial derivatives to address a long standing problem in mean-variance analysis: What does the concavity of utility functions mean? It is well known that, when mean-variance preferences are derived from expected utility and normal distributions, concavity is equivalent to decreasing prudence. In this paper, we derive conditions that link concavity to prudence in a general mean-standard deviation case.EconomicsMathematicsSocial SciencesMathematical methodsJournal Article1879-31181840190000075205