Minimal rights based solidarity

Abstract

In a model where individuals with different levels of skills exert different levels of effort, we propose to use individuals' minimal rights to divide an extra amount of income generated by a change in the skill profile. Priority is given to individuals with a positive minimal right which ensures that the way redistribution is performed depends on the total sum of income available in society. We characterize two families of Minimal Rights based Egalitarian mechanisms. One family guarantees each individual her claim when claims are feasible. The other family guarantees a non-negative income after redistribution for all individuals