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Matthew D. Adler, Measuring Social Welfare: An Introduction

Author

Listed:
  • Antoinette Baujard

    (UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne, GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

This paper is a book review of Matthew Adler's bool "Measuring Social Welfare: An Introduction", published at OUP in 2019. The book is an introduction to the social welfare function approach, meant to assess social welfare and help public decision making, as a comprehensive and welcome alternative to cost-benefit analysis. The review first provides a number of references to situate the contribution of the book in the literature. Secondly, it insists on the fact that the social welfare approach is able to express transparently normative criteria, by contrast with CBA. Thirdly, it highlights that, after the focus on efficiency, the book well illustrates how to incorporate wider distributive criteria; it also enables to encompass different kinds of public policies beyond fiscal redistribution. Fourthly, it regrets that the book does not yet illustrate how to cope with the diversity of values and relevant information beyond utility and income, however introduced as theoretically possible.

Suggested Citation

  • Antoinette Baujard, 2021. "Matthew D. Adler, Measuring Social Welfare: An Introduction," Post-Print halshs-03894814, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03894814
    DOI: 10.4000/oeconomia.11299
    as

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