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Animal Welfare and Social Decisions

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  • Aronsson, Thomas

    (...)

  • Johansson-Stenman, Olof

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the standard welfare economics assumption of anthropocentric welfarism, i.e., that only human well-being counts intrinsically. Alternatives where animal welfare matters intrinsically are explored theoretically, based on moral philosophical literature, and empirically where the general public‘s ethical preferences are measured through a survey with a representative sample in Sweden. It is concluded that welfare economics should be generalized in order to encompass the idea that animal welfare should sometimes matter intrinsically.

Suggested Citation

  • Aronsson, Thomas & Johansson-Stenman, Olof, 2011. "Animal Welfare and Social Decisions," Working Papers in Economics 485, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0485
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/24146
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    animal welfare; anthropocentrism; welfarism; ethics; ethical preferences; cost-benefit analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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