This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Making use of the past: theorists and historians on the economics of altruism

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Philippe Fontaine

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

While deriving their explanation of positive utility interdependence from Edgeworth's presupposition that concern for others' welfare varies with the 'social distance' between individuals, economic theorists have overlooked both Smith's idea that sympathy can also develop on the basis of empathy and Wicksteed's idea that sympathy and altruism operate on different levels of analysis. In retrieving past ideas that have not been followed up in the modern theories of altruism, historians of economics should be able not only to shed some light on the main stages in its development but also to show that its achievements cannot be assessed independently of its limits.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=D4G5N9Y0608C2TXU
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by Taylor and Francis Journals in its journal European Journal of the History of Economic Thought.

Volume (Year): 7 (2000)
Issue (Month): 3 (September)
Pages: 407-422
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:7:y:2000:i:3:p:407-422

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/link.asp?target=journal&id=104706

Order Information:
Web: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/subscription.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords: Altruism Empathy Sympathy Smith Edgeworth Wicksteed;

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. Collard, David, 1975. "Edgeworth's Propositions on Altruism," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 85(338), pages 355-60, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1985. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(6), pages 1045-76, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Lindbeck, Assar & Weibull, Jorgen W, 1988. "Altruism and Time Consistency: The Economics of Fait Accompli," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(6), pages 1165-82, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Cornes, Richard & Sandler, Todd, 1984. "The theory of public goods: non-nash behaviour," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 367-379, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. R. D. Hood & S. A. Martin & Lars S. Osberg, 1977. "Economic Determinants of Individual Charitable Donations in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 10(4), pages 653-69, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Ted Bergstrom & Oded Stark, 1993. "How Altruism Can Prevail in an Evolutionary Environment," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 1993B, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Bernheim, B Douglas, 1986. "On the Voluntary and Involuntary Provision of Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 789-93, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Jack Hirshleifer, 1977. "Economics from a Biological Viewpoint," UCLA Economics Working Papers 087, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-46, July-Aug.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Tullock, Gordon, 1977. "Economics and Sociobiology: A Comment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 502-06, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Landes, William M & Posner, Richard A, 1978. "Altruism in Law and Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(2), pages 417-21, May.
    Other versions:
  12. Bernheim, B Douglas & Stark, Oded, 1988. "Altruism within the Family Reconsidered: Do Nice Guys Finish Last?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1034-45, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Andreoni, James, 1989. "Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1447-58, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Warr, Peter G., 1983. "The private provision of a public good is independent of the distribution of income," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 207-211. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Sugden, Robert, 1984. "Reciprocity: The Supply of Public Goods through Voluntary Contributions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 94(376), pages 772-87, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Hirshleifer, Jack, 1977. "Economics from a Biological Viewpoint," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-52, April.
  18. Hochman, Harold M & Rodgers, James D, 1969. "Pareto Optimal Redistribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(4), pages 542-57, Part I Se. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Sugden, Robert, 1982. "On the Economics of Philanthropy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(366), pages 341-50, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Chami, Ralph, 1996. "King Lear's dilemma: Precommitment versus the last word," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 171-176, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Sugden, Robert, 1985. "Consistent conjectures and voluntary contributions to public goods: why the conventional theory does not work," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 117-124, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Schall, Lawrence D, 1972. "Interdependent Utilities and Pareto Optimality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 86(1), pages 19-24, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Harbaugh, William T, 1998. "The Prestige Motive for Making Charitable Transfers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 277-82, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(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. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2007. "Normative Issues In Marginalism: The Case Of P. Wicksteed," MPRA Paper 6684, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. A. Marciano, 2006. "Economists on Darwin's theory of social evolution and human behaviour," Papers on Economics and Evolution 2005-21, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Evolutionary Economics Group.
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Over 1000 institutions contribute their bibliographic data directly to this service.

This page was last updated on 2009-12-10.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.