Some Reflections on the Role of Moral Reasoning in Economics

Abstract

People seem to be motivated by moral ideas and in this paper I discuss how we should take this into account in positive and normative economics. I review alternative ways of modelling moral motivation and reasoning in positive economics and discuss how the presence of moral motivation may challenge the standard framework of welfare economics. I also discuss the need for invoking non-welfaristic principles in normative economics and whether these principles can be reconciled with the Pareto principle.