Preferences for Income Distribution and Distributive Justice: A Window on the Problems of Using Experimental Data in Economics and Ethics

This is a paper in response to the article "An Experimental Test of Preferences for the Distribution of Income and Individual Risk Aversion" by by John Beck (1994). Beck's experimental results on preferences for income distribution and our own findings on distributive justice are compared and contrasted. The relative roles of risk preference and impartial reasoning are discussed. A number of implications are drawn regarding the role of experimentation in economics and ethics.Distribution; Distributive Justice; Distributive; Income Distribution; Income; Justice

Moral free riding

Garrett Cullit

Left ventricular morphology and function in adolescents: Relations to fitness and fatness.

BACKGROUND: Obesity in childhood predisposes individuals to cardiovascular disease and increased risk of premature all-cause mortality. The aim of this study was to determine differences in LV morphology and function in obese and normal-weight adolescents. Furthermore, relationships between LV outcomes, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and adiposity were explored. METHODS: LV morphology was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 20 adolescents (11 normal-weight [BMI equivalent to 18kg/m(2)-25kg/m(2)] and 9 obese [BMI equivalent to ≥30kg/m(2)]); 13.3±1.1years, 45% female, Tanner puberty stage 3 [2-4]) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Global longitudinal strain (GLS), strain rate (SR) and traditional echocardiographic indices were used to assess LV function. CRF (peak oxygen consumption), percent body fat (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), abdominal adipose tissue (MRI), and blood biochemistry markers were also evaluated. RESULTS: Adolescents with obesity showed significantly poorer LV function compared to normal-weight adolescents (P0.05). Moderate to strong associations between myocardial contractility and relaxation, adiposity, arterial blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness were noted (r=0.49-0.71, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Obesity in adolescence is associated with altered LV systolic and diastolic function. The notable relationship between LV function, CRF and adiposity highlights the potential utility of multidisciplinary lifestyle interventions to treat diminished LV function in this population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01991106

Is Fairness in the Eye of the Beholder? An Impartial Spectator Analysis of Justice

A popular sentiment is that fairness is inexorably subjective and incapable of being determined by objective standards. This study, on the other hand, seeks to establish evidence on unbiased justice and to propose and demonstrate a general approach for measuring impartial views empirically. Most normative justice theories associate impartiality with limited information and with consensus, i.e., a high level of agreement about what is right. In both the normative and positive literature, information is usually seen as the raw material for self-serving bias and disagreement. In contrast, this paper proposes a type of impartiality that is associated with a high level of information. The crucial distinction is the emphasis here on the views of impartial spectators, rather than implicated stakeholders. I describe the quasi-spectator method, i.e., an empirical means to approximate the views of impartial spectators that is based on a direct relationship between information and consensus, whereby consensus refers to the level of agreement among actual evaluators of real world situations. Results of surveys provide evidence on quasi-spectator views and support this approach as a means to elicit moral preferences. By establishing a relationship between consensus and impartiality, this paper seeks to help lay an empirical foundation for welfare analysis, social choice theory and practical policy applications

Not Just Babble: A Voluntary Contribution Experiment with Iterative Numerical Messages

When subjects can make non-binding announcements of possible contributions to a public good numerically, there is no effect on average level of contributions in a public goods experiment relative to play without announcements. But a detailed analysis of this experiment shows that pre-play announcements increased the variance of achieved cooperation among groups, leading both to more highly cooperative groups and to more thoroughly uncooperative groups than in a treatment without announcements. We also add a treatment in which subjects can select a statement of (non-binding) “promise” to contribute a certain amount and we find that even though subjects were instructed that promise statements were not binding, the ability to issue them significantly increased both contributions and earnings in a treatment that includes costly punishment opportunities, although not in a treatment without punishment