ethics and economics

Marc Fleurbaey
From The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition, 2008
Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Abstract

In recent decades, an important corpus of theories in normative economics (social choice theory, the theory of fair allocation, and inequality and poverty measurement in particular) has developed in which formal analytical tools of economic theory are mobilized in order to relate basic principles of social ethics to precise criteria for the evaluation of social states of affairs. The efficacy of arguments based on veil-of-ignorance devices has been questioned and the scope of impossibility theorems has been circumscribed, leaving the stage to a variety of constructive proposals in several fields of application (voting, resource allocation, public policy, social indicators).
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Keywords

Arrow, K.; axiomatic bargaining; axiomatic theory of indices; bargaining; Bergson–Samuelson social welfare function; Borda rule; business ethics; capability sets; coalition formation; competitive equilibrium; consequentialism; consumer sovereignty; cooperative games; corporate social responsibility; cost–benefit analysis; cost–surplus sharing; dominance criteria; Dworkin, R.; egalitarian equivalence; egalitarianism; equality of capabilities; equality of opportunity; equality of resources; ethics and economics; fair allocation; Gini coefficient; Harsanyi, J.; hypothetical insurance (Dworkin); identity; impartial observer (J. Harsanyi); impartiality; impossibility theorem; income distribution; indexing problem; inequality (measurement); inequality aversion; interest aggregation; interpersonal comparisons of utility; intertemporal preferences; judgements vs interests; liberal paradoxes; libertarianism; Lorenz curve; marginal rate of substitution; maximin principle; multidimensional inequality; Nash, J.; New Welfare Economics; normative economics; objective advantage; ordinal non-comparable (ONC) preferences; original position (Rawls); other-regarding preferences; Pareto principle; positive economics; potential Pareto improvements; poverty measurement; preferences; Rawls, J.; responsibility; rights; risk aversion; Samuelson, P.; Sen, A.; Shapley, L.; social choice; social contract; social justice; social welfare functions; subjective utility; tastes; utility functions; utility possibility sets; value judgements; veil of ignorance (Rawls); well-being
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How to cite this article

Fleurbaey, Marc. "ethics and economics." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second Edition. Eds. Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online. Palgrave Macmillan. 02 September 2010 <http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_E000272> doi:10.1057/9780230226203.0502

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