How to Avoid Both the Repugnant and Sadistic Conclusions without Dropping Standard Axioms in Population Ethics

Norihito Sakamoto

No 11, RCNE Discussion Paper Series from Research Center for Normative Economics, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University

Abstract: This study investigates possibility and impossibility results of the repugnant and sadistic conclusions in population ethics. Previous studies have often found it challenging to avoid both undesirable conclusions. However, I demonstrate that a class of acceptable social welfare orderings can easily prevent these conclusions while adhering to standard axioms, such as anonymity, strong Pareto, Pigou-Dalton transfer, and extended continuity. Nevertheless, if the avoidance requirements for the repugnant and sadistic conclusions are strengthened, it is possible to encounter new impossibility results. These results reveal essential conflicts between the independence axiom and the avoidance of the weak repugnant conclusion when evaluating well-being profiles with different populations.

Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2023-04
Note: First Draft: June 13, 2022. This Version : April 30, 2023.
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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