To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi's utilitarian ethics

Yoram Amiel, Frank Cowell () and Wulf Gaertner

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: According to standard theory founded on Harsanyi (1953, 1955) a social welfare function can be appropriately based on the individual’s approach to choice under uncertainty. We investigate whether people really do rank distributions according to the same principles irrespective of whether the comparison involves money payoffs in a risky situation or the distribution of income among persons. We use a questionnaire experiment to focus on the two different interpretations of the Harsanyi approach. There are important, systematic differences that transcend the cultural background of respondents.

Keywords: Impartial observer theorem; utilitarianism; welfare. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2006-02
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2687/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi’s utilitarian ethics (2009)
Working Paper: To Be or not To Be Involved:A Questionnaire-Experimental View on Harsanyi’sUtilitarian Ethics (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:2687

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