Equity Analysis and Natural Hazards Policy

What is an "equitable" policy for mitigating the impacts of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural hazards. Economists tend to see "equity" or "distribution" as irreducibly political and subjective. But, in truth, equity analysis and cost-benefit analysis are on a par. Both require a normative justification. Moreover, normative argument can help structure equity analysis, just as it can with cost-benefit analysis. This paper argues that equity is a normative consideration distinct from efficiency or overall well-being. It then argues that equity is individualistic, not group-based; ex post, not ex ante; that the "currency" for equity consists in the multiple dimensions of well-being, not income or longevity; and that, at a minimum, equity analysis should be concerned to avoid serious deprivations with respect to any well-being dimension. The upshot is a set of concrete recommendations for how equity analysis of natural hazards policy should be structured.Environment, Regulatory Reform

How to guard against the risk of living too long: the case for collective pensions

This chapter provides a defense of a type of occupational pension, known as “collective defined contribution” (CDC), which is based on the idea that it is possible to limit the employer’s liability to nothing more than a set contribution (a “defined contribution”) while retaining many of the benefits of the collectivization (pooling) of risks of a traditional defined benefit (DB) pension. CDC can be defended against a freedom-based objection from the right via an appeal to the following Hobbesian voluntarist justification: CDC constitutes a “Leviathan of Leviathans” into which it is rational for workers to choose to associate in order to tame longevity and investment risks. CDC pensions that arise from and mirror existing income inequalities can also be defended against an egalitarian objection from the left, by demonstration that they can be grounded in Rawlsian principles of reciprocity and property-owning democracy

Justice in Labor Immigration Policy

I provide an alternative to the two prevailing accounts of justice in immigration policy, the free migration view and the state discretion view. Against the background of an internationalist conception of domestic and global justice that grounds special duties of justice between co-citizens in their shared participation in a distinctive scheme of social cooperation, I defend three principles of justice to guide labor immigration policy: the Difference Principle, the Duty of Beneficence, and the Duty of Assistance. I suggest how these principles are to be applied in both ideal and nonideal circumstances. Finally, I argue that the potential conflict between these principles has often been overstated, and propose priority rules for genuine cases of conflict

Pre-Emption: Federal Statutory Intervention in State Taxation

This paper examines the implications of Federal statutory restrictions on state government taxing powers. Such pre-emption can prevent states from pursuing policies that are best adapted to their economic circumstances and objectives, inefficiently constraining decentralized state tax policymaking. States policy choices may, however, harm the efficient operation of the US federation as a whole; in such cases, the “visible hand” of Federal pre-emption may lead to improved policy outcomes. Existing and proposed statutes that regulate state taxation of retail sales, retirement savings distributions, and corporation income illustrate the potential advantages and disadvantages of pre-emption.

Care and Institutions with Elizabeth Lanphier

Overview & Shownotes Clinical ethicist and professor of philosophy Elizabeth Lanphier joins the Examining Ethics podcast to discuss the relationship between care and justice, and what an ethic of care might look like in institutional settings. For the episode transcript, download a copy or read it below. Contact us at [email protected] Links to people and ideas mentioned in the show Elizabeth Lanphier, “An Institutional Ethic of Care” “Why we should care about ‘care ethics’ “ More information about the basics of care ethics Virginia Held Justice versus care ethics Ideal and nonideal theory Margaret Urban Walker Credits Thanks to Evelyn Brosius for our logo. Music featured in the show: “Gin Boheme” by Blue Dot Sessions “Songe d’Automne” by Latché Swing from the Free Music Archive. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 F

Recapturing the Spirit of Furman: The American Bar Association and the New Abolitionist Politics

Sarat locates the American Bar Association\u27s call for a moratorium on executions in the context of modern abolitionist politics. New abolitionism links anti-death penalty work with a broader civil rights agenda

Panel: Title IX Revisited

CUNY Comment on DOE Regulation

Panel: Title IX Revisited

CUNY Comment on DOE Regulation