Incorporating Ethics into Economics: Problems and Possibilities

Donna Rowen and Michael Dietrich

No 2004006, Working Papers from The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics

Abstract: In traditional economics the decision-making process for individuals has effectively no role for ethics as individuals are self-interested. The key concepts in economics which determine the role of ethics in the decision-making process are utility, rationality and methodological individualism and hence how these can be and are formulated and combined determines different roles for ethics in economics. Amitai Etzioni, Amartya Sen and John Broome use different definitions of these concepts and hence find different problems and possibilities for a greater role for ethics in economics. This paper integrates the different approaches of these authors and suggests a general mono-utility framework for incorporating ethics into economics whereby the concept of utility requires adaptation.

Keywords: Ethics; Utility; Methodological individualism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D11 D64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2004-07, Revised 2004-07
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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