Market Failure, Justice, and Preferences

Colin M. Macleod
Additional contact information
Colin M. Macleod: University of Victoria, Postal: Canada

Ethics and Economics, 2008, vol. 6, issue 1, 7

Abstract: In this brief discussion, I will address two main issues. The first concerns our understanding of the nature of market failure as an evaluative concept. I suggest that we have reason to avoid defining market failure solely in relation to the technical notion of Pareto optimality. The second issue concerns the authority of individual preferences in market contexts and the circumstances in which it might be appropriate to override preferences in order to address various kinds of (broadly defined) market failure. I draw some distinctions between different kinds of preferences that help us understand the ways in which individual preferences can assume authority. Against this background, we can better understand why the responsiveness of markets to preferences can be a virtue. However, I also identify ways in which individual preferences can lack authority and how, consequently, overriding preferences that might otherwise drive market activity can be justified.

Keywords: market failure; justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://ethique-economique.net Full text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:etheco:0018

Access Statistics for this article

Ethics and Economics is currently edited by Jérôme Ballet

More articles in Ethics and Economics from CREUM, Université de Montréal
Bibliographic data for series maintained by David Robichaud ().