Justice (economics)
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'Just' in many usages, including economic ones, may express ethical acceptance of some possible social state(s) against which other possible social states are measured. By contrast, the usage of justice in economics is as a subcategory of welfare economics with models frequently representing the ethical-social requirements of a given theory.[1] That theory may or may not elicit acceptance. In the Journal of Economic Literature classification codes 'justice' is scrolled to at JEL: D63, wedged on the same line between 'Equity' and 'Inequality' along with 'Other Normative Criteria and Measurement'. Categories above and below the line are Externalities and Altruism.
In early welfare economics, where mentioned, 'justice' was little distinguished from maximization of all individual utility functions or a social welfare function. As to the latter, this need not slight an ordinary notion of justice. Samuelson (1947, p. 221)[2] describes a social welfare function (or social ordering) as representing any ethical belief system required to order any (hypothetically feasible) social states for the entire society as "better than," "worse than," or "indifferent to" each other.
Sen (1987)[3] outlines ways in which utilitarianism as an approach to justice is constrained or challenged by independent claims of equality in the distribution of primary goods,[4] liberty and entitlements,[5] exclusion of antisocial preferences, possible capabilities,[6] and fairness as non-envy plus Pareto efficiency.
In the recent literature, a broad reinterpretation of justice from the perspective of game theory, social contract theory, and evolutionary naturalism is found in works of Ken Binmore (1994, 1998, 2004).[7] [8] Arguments on fairness as an aspect of justice have been invoked to explain a wide range of behavioral and theoretical appplications, supplementing earlier emphasis on economic efficiency (Konow, 2003).[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Developed along more general lines in Allan Gibbard (1990). Wise Choices, Apt Feelings.
- ^ Paul A. Samuelson (1947), Foundations of Economic Analysis, ch. VIII
- ^ Amartya Sen (1987), "justice," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 2, pp. 1039-43.
- ^ John Rawls (1971), A Theory of Justice.
- ^ Robert Nozick (1974), Anarchy, State, and Utopia.
- ^ Amartya K. Sen (1985), Commodities and Capabilities.
- ^ Ken Binmore (1994, 1998), Game Theory and the Social Contract, 2 v.
- ^ Ken Binmore (2004), Natural Justice.
- ^ James Konow (2003), "Which Is the Fairest One of All? A Positive Analysis of Justice Theories," Journal of Economic Literature, 41(4), p. 1188.
[edit] Bibliography
- A.B. Atkinson (1982). Social Justice and Public Policy. Contents & chapter previews.
- Kenneth J. Arrow (1983). Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, v. 1, Social Choice and Justice
- Ken Binmore. Game Theory and the Social Contract Pub. description.
- (1994). v. 1: Playing Fair. (moral and political theory from a game-theoretical perspective)
- (1998), v. 2: Just Playing. (Humean & evolutionary naturalism to defend Rawls's original position)
- ____ {2004). Natural Justice. Pub. description and review comments.
- Jon Elster (1989). "Social Norms and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3(4), pp. 99-11.
- Marc Fleurbaey (2006). "Economics and Economic Justice", Stanford Encyclopedia of Economics.
- Norman Geras (1985). "The Controversy about Marx and Justice," New Left Review, 150, pp. 47-85.
- Allan Gibbard (1990). Wise Choices, Apt Feelings. Pub. description.
- Daniel M. Hausman and Michael S. McPherson (1996, 2nd ed. 2006). Economic Analysis and Moral Philosophy, Part III: Liberty, rights, equality, and justice, pp. 117-62.
- Serge-Christophe Kolm (1996). Modern Theories of Justice. Excerpts & pub. description.
- James Konow (2003). "Which Is the Fairest One of All? A Positive Analysis of Justice Theories," Journal of Economic Literature, 41(4), pp. 1188-1239.
- Julian Lamont (2003). "Distributive Justice", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Julian Le Grand {1991). Equity and Choice: An Essay in Economics and Applied Philosophy.
- Edmund S. Phelps. "distributive justice," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics (1987):v. 1, pp. 886-88.
- Phillipe Mongin (2002). "Is There Progress in Normative Economics?", same title in Stephan Boehm, et al., eds. (2002), Is There Progress in Economics?.
- Edmund S. Phelps (1987). "distributive justice," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 1, pp. 886-88.
- Richard A. Posner (1981). The Economics of Justice, ISBN 978-0-674-23526-7 Pub. description.
- J.E.Roemer (1987). "Marxian Value Analysis". The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 3, pp. 383-87.
- Matthew Rabin (1993). "Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics," American Economic Review, 83(5), pp. 1281-1302.
- Paul A. Samuelson (1947). Foundations of Economic Analysis, ch. VIII, "Welfare Economics."
- Amartya K. Sen (1970), Collective Choice and Social Welfare:
- ch. 9, "Equity and Justice," pp. 131-51
- ch. 9*, "Impersonality and Collective Quasi-Orderings," pp. 152-160.
- _____ (1985). Commodities and Capabilities. Pub. description.
- _____ (1987). "justice," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 2, pp. 1039-43.
