Social choice with approximate interpersonal comparison of welfare gains

Marcus Pivato

Theory and Decision, 2015, vol. 79, issue 2, 216 pages

Abstract: Suppose it is possible to make approximate interpersonal comparisons of welfare gains and losses. Thus, if $$w$$ w , $$x$$ x , $$y$$ y and $$z$$ z are personal states (each encoding all factors which influence the well-being of an individual), then it is sometimes possible to say “The welfare gain of the state change $$w\leadsto x$$ w ⇝ x is greater than the welfare gain of the state change $$y\leadsto z$$ y ⇝ z ”. We can represent this by the formula “ $$(w\leadsto x)\succeq (y\leadsto z)$$ ( w ⇝ x ) ⪰ ( y ⇝ z ) ”, where $$(\succeq )$$ ( ⪰ ) is a difference preorder: an incomplete preorder on the space of all possible personal state changes. A social state change is a bundle of personal state changes. A social difference preorder (SDP) is an incomplete preorder on the space of social state changes, which satisfies Pareto and Anonymity axioms. We characterize a family of SDPs which are roughly utilitarian in nature. We also apply the model to redistributive taxation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Keywords: Interpersonal comparisons; Cardinal utility; Utilitarian; Difference preorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Working Paper: Social choice with approximate interpersonal comparisons of welfare gains (2015)
Working Paper: Social choice with approximate interpersonal comparison of welfare gains (2011)
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DOI: 10.1007/s11238-014-9458-8

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