What We Owe Our Children, They Their Children

John Roemer and Roberto Veneziani

No 1326, Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers from Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University

Abstract: Egalitarian theorists, since Rawls, have in the main advocated equalizing some objective measure of individual well-being, such as primary goods, functioning, or resources, rather than subjective welfare. This discussion, however, has assumed, implicitly, a static environment. By analyzing a society that survives for many generations, we demonstrate that equality of opportunity for some objective condition is incompatible with human development over time. We argue that this incompatibility can be resolved by equalizing opportunities for welfare. Thus, 'subjectivism' seems necessary if we are to hope for a society which can both equalize opportunities and support the development of human capacity over time.

Keywords: Justice; development; dynamic programming; optimal taxation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 D63 D9 H21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2001-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent, nep-hpe, nep-mic, nep-net and nep-pbe
Note: CFP 1146.
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Journal of Public Economic Theory (2004), 6(5): 637-654

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