Prioritizing the “worse off” under attainability constraints: An indeterminacy problem for distributive fairness

Anders Herlitz and David Horan ()
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Anders Herlitz: Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg and Department of Philosophy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

No 201608, Working Papers from Geary Institute, University College Dublin

Abstract: Numerous theories of distributive fairness promote the idea that we ought to give extra weight to benefits to the worse off and can thereby be seen as promoting gap closures. This paper underlines the relevance of making a distinction between attainable and ideal target levels for individuals in populations affected by distributive fairness and show that in cases of scarce resources, theories that promote aggregate gap closures and prioritization of the worse off can in view of this distinction be interpreted in three mutually inconsistent ways.

Keywords: distributive fairness; equality; priority setting; capped objectives and social choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 D71 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2016-04-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pke
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201608

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