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Ex-post approaches to prioritarianism and sufficientarianism

Author

Listed:
  • Adler, Matthew D.

    (Duke Law School)

  • Bossert, Walter

    (Department of Economics, University of Montreal)

  • Cato, Susumu

    (Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo)

  • Kamaga, Kohei

    (Faculty of Economics, Sophia University)

Abstract

Although sufficientarianism has been gaining interest as a theory of distributive justice in recent years, it has not been examined in the presence of risk. We propose an ex-post approach to sufficientarianism that has a strong link to ex-post prioritarianism. Both ex-post criteria are based on an axiom that we refer to as prospect independence of the unconcerned, a natural extension of the independence axiom known from the literature that focuses on situations with no risk. We characterize a class of ex-post prioritarian orderings as well as the corresponding class of ex-post sufficientarian orderings. In addition, we point out some important differences between these two ex-post criteria, and we examine how they fare when assessed in terms of specific ex-ante Paretian axioms.

Suggested Citation

  • Adler, Matthew D. & Bossert, Walter & Cato, Susumu & Kamaga, Kohei, 0. "Ex-post approaches to prioritarianism and sufficientarianism," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:the:publsh:6114
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sufficientarianism. prioritarianism; risk; ex-post approach; prospect independence of the unconcerned; axiomatic characterization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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