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Information Invariance in Variable-Population Social-Choice Problems

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Author Info
Blackorby, Charles
Bossert, Walter
Donaldson, David

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Abstract

We examine the possibilities of extending Sen's taxonomy of fixed-population information assumptions regarding the measurability and interpersonal comparability of individual utilities to social-choice problems where the population may vary. It is shown that in order to avoid impossibility results, informationally more demanding assumptions than in the fixed-population framework are required. We provide characterizations of variable-population social-welfare orderings based on information assumptions, and we suggest a way of generating the required informational environment by means of norms that impose a domain restriction on the set of possible utility profiles. Copyright 1999 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association in its journal International Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 40 (1999)
Issue (Month): 2 (May)
Pages: 403-22
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Handle: RePEc:ier:iecrev:v:40:y:1999:i:2:p:403-22

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Sen, Amartya, 1974. "Informational bases of alternative welfare approaches : Aggregation and income distribution," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 387-403, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Sen, Amartya K, 1977. "On Weights and Measures: Informational Constraints in Social Welfare Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(7), pages 1539-72, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Walter Bossert, 1996. "Opportunity sets and individual well-being," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 97-112. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Basu, Kaushik, 1983. "Cardinal utility, utilitarianism, and a class of invariance axioms in welfare analysis," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 193-206, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Blackorby, Charles & Bossert, Walter & Donaldson, David, 1995. "Intertemporal Population Ethics: Critical-Level Utilitarian Principles," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich.
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  6. Blackorby, Charles & Bossert, Walter & Donaldson, David, 1997. "Birth-Date Dependent Population Ethics: Critical-Level Principles," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 260-284, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Bossert, Walter & Stehling, Frank, 1992. "A Remark on Admissible Transformations for Interpersonally Comparable Utilities," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 33(3), pages 739-44, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Blackorby, C. & Bossert, W. & Donaldson, D., 1996. "Intertemporally Consistent Population Ethics: Birth-Date Dependent Classical Principles," G.R.E.Q.A.M. 96a23, Universite Aix-Marseille III.
  9. Blackorby, C. & Bossert, W. & Donaldson, D., 1995. "Uncertainty and Critical-Level Population Principles: A Static Model," UBC Departmental Archives 95-42, UBC Department of Economics.
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  10. Gevers, Louis, 1979. "On Interpersonal Comparability and Social Welfare Orderings," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(1), pages 75-89, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Roberts, Kevin W S, 1980. "Possibility Theorems with Interpersonally Comparable Welfare Levels," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(2), pages 409-20, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. BLACKORBY, Charles & BOSSERT, Walter & DONALDSON, David, 2006. "Population Ethics," Cahiers de recherche 2006-15, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques. [Downloadable!]
  13. Bossert, W. & Stehling, F., 1989. "On The Uniqueness Of Cardinally Interpreted Utility Functions," Papers 8919, Tilburg - Center for Economic Research.
  14. Deschamps, Robert & Gevers, Louis, 1978. "Leximin and utilitarian rules: A joint characterization," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 143-163, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Blackorby, Charles & Donaldson, David, 1984. "Social criteria for evaluating population change," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1-2), pages 13-33, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Blackorby, Charles & Donaldson, David, 1982. "Ratio-Scale and Translation-Scale Full Interpersonal Comparability without Domain Restrictions: Admissible Social-Evaluation Functions," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 23(2), pages 249-68, June.
  17. Blackorby, C. & Bossert, W. & Donaldson, D., 1994. "Leximin Population Ethics," UBC Departmental Archives 94-30, UBC Department of Economics.
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  18. Ng, Yew-Kwang, 1986. "Social criteria for evaluating population change: An alternative to the Blackorby-Donaldson criterion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 375-381, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Hammond, Peter J, 1979. "Equity in Two Person Situations: Some Consequences," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(5), pages 1127-35, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Bossert, Walter, 1990. "Social evaluation with variable population size: an alternative concept," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 143-158, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Walter Bossert & John A. Weymark, . "Utility in Social Choice," Old UBC Departmental Papers 9623, UBC Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  22. Blackorby, Charles & Donaldson, David & Weymark, John A, 1984. "Social Choice with Interpersonal Utility Comparisons: A Diagrammatic Introduction," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 25(2), pages 327-56, June.
  23. Bossert, W., 1989. "On Intra-And Interpersonal Utility Comparisons," UBC Departmental Archives 89-25, UBC Department of Economics.
  24. d'Aspremont, Claude & Gevers, Louis, 1977. "Equity and the Informational Basis of Collective Choice," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(2), pages 199-209, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Roberts, Kevin W S, 1980. "Interpersonal Comparability and Social Choice Theory," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(2), pages 421-39, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. BLACKORBY, Charles & BOSSERT, Walter & DONALDSON, David, 2003. "Harsanyi’s Social Aggregation Theorem : A Multi-Profile Approach with Variable-Population Extensions," Cahiers de recherche 2003-05, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Charles Blackorby, & Walter Bossert & David Donaldson,, . "Price-Independent Welfare Precriptions and Population Size," Discussion Papers 97/17, University of Nottingham, School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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