4 research outputs found

    A Story of Consistency: Bridging the Gap between Bentham and Rawls Foundations

    Full text link
    The axiomatic foundations of Bentham and Rawls solutions are discussed within the broader domain of cardinal preferences. It is unveiled that both solution concepts share all four of the following axioms: Nonemptiness, Anonymity, Unanimity, and Continuity. In order to fully characterize the Bentham and Rawls solutions, three variations of a consistency criterion are introduced and their compatibility with the other axioms is assessed. Each expression of consistency can be interpreted as a property of decision-making in uncertain environments

    Ranking Multidimensional Alternatives and Uncertain Prospects

    Get PDF
    We introduce a two-stage ranking of multidimensional alternatives, including uncertain prospects as particular case, when these objects can be given a suitable matrix form. The first stage defines a ranking of rows and a ranking of columns, and the second stage ranks matrices by applying natural monotonicity conditions to these auxiliary rankings. Owing to the Debreu-Gorman theory of additive separability, this framework is sufficient to generate very precise numerical representations. We apply them to three main types of multidimensional objects: streams of commodity baskets through time, monetary input-output matrices, and most extensively, uncertain prospects either in a social or an individual context of decision. Among other applications, the new approach delivers the strongest existing form of Harsanyi's (1955) Aggregation Theorem and casts light on the classic comparison between the ex ante and ex post Pareto principle. It also provides a novel derivation of subjective probability from preferences, in the style of Anscombe and Aumann (1963)

    Fairness views in social and individual decisions

    Get PDF
    Fairness and efficiency are two classical and connected topics in economics. They have become well known, perhaps due to Adam Smith’s two influential works: The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), which highlights a concern for fairness concern as part of morality, and The Wealth of Nations (1776), which underlines a concern for efficiency. However, during the rapid development of economics, fairness has received disproportionately less attention than efficiency. As a result, many people, including some economists, have incorrectly understood that economics as a subject no longer cares about fairness. The primary objective of this thesis is to dispel this misperception. We would argue here that, similar to efficiency, fairness is an important factor for both social and individual decisions, and sometimes its effect can be determined. Written in a three-paper format, this thesis explores fairness from three different angles. These angles cover the broad areas of how theoretical economists model fairness in social choice theory, how the general public perceive distributive fairness, and how people implement their fairness norms in making real-life donations. This multidimensional exploration is believed to be crucial to a comprehensive understanding of fairness
    corecore