Dominance Criteria for Critical-Level Generalized Utilitarianism

Alain Trannoy and John Weymark

No 707, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers from Vanderbilt University Department of Economics

Abstract: Social welfare dominance criteria based on critical-level generalized utilitarian social welfare functions are investigated. An analogue of a generalized Lorenz curve called a generalized concentration curve is introduced. For a fixed critical utility level c, a partial order of utility distributions based on these curves is defined and shown to coincide with the partial order obtained by declaring one utility distribution to be weakly preferred to a second if and only if the former is weakly preferred to the latter for all inequality averse critical-level c generalized utilitarian social welfare functions. An extension of this result that allows for a range of critical levels is also established.

Keywords: Critical-level utilitarianism; generalized Lorenz dominance; social welfare dominance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 D31 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:van:wpaper:0707

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