Arrow’s Theorem, The Paradox of Social Choice: A Case Study in the Philosophy of Economics

164 Pages·1980·7.2 MB·English

by  Alfred F. MacKay

Alfred F. MacKay
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.0rg/detaiis/arrowstheoremparOOOOmack

Arrow's Theorem: The Paradox of Social Choice
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Alfred F. MacKay
ARROW'S
THEOREM
THE PARADOX OF
SOCIAL CHOICE
A CASE STUDY IN THE
PHILOSOPHY OF
ECONOMICS
Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1980
Copyright © 1980 by Yale University.
All rights reserved. This book may not be
reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form '
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107
and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by
reviewers for the public press), without written
permission from the publishers.
Designed by James j. Johnson
and set in VIP Optima type.
Printed in the United States of America by
Halliday Lithograph, West Hanover, Mass.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
MacKay, Alfred F.
Arrow's theorem, the paradox of social choice.
Includes index.
1. Welfare economics. 1. Title.
HB99.3.M23 330.15'5 79-26445
ISBN 0-300-02450-9
ISBN 0-300-03259-5 (pbk.)
10 98765432
Contents
Preface vii
1. Social Choice and Arrow's Paradox 1
2. Four Conditions on Rational Social Choice 13
3. Preference, Thresholds, and Transitivity 49
4. Interpersonal Comparisons and Noncreativity 61
5. Some Ways Out 89
6. Arrow's Theorem 103
7. Impossibility and Infinity 112
Afterword 126
Appendix 128
Index 139
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