Population Issues in Social Choice Theory, Welfare Economics, and Ethics

378 Pages·48.721 MB·English

by  Charles Blackorby, Walter Bossert, David Donaldson

Population Issues in Social
Choice Theory, Welfare
Economics, and Ethics
Charles Blackorby
University of Wanvick
Walter Bossert
University of Montreal
David Donaldson
University of British Columbia
ffi:;ffi CAMBRIDGE
W
UNN{ERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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@ Charles Blackorby, Walter Bossert, and David Donaldson 2005
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First published 2005
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Blackorby, Charles, 1937-
Population issues in social choice theory, welfare economics and ethics /
Charles Blackorby, Walter Bossert, David Donaldson.
p.
cm. - (Econometric Society monographs ; no. 39)
Includes bibliographical references and indei.
ISBN 0-521-82551-2 (hardback) - ISBN 0-521-53258-2 (pbk.)
l. Population policy. 2. Population-Economerric models. 3. euality of life.
4. Welfare economics. 5. Social choice. I. Bossert, Walter. Ii. Donaldson,
David, 1938- III. Title. IV. Series.
H8883.5.855 2005
304.6'014c22
2005004349
ISBN-13 978-0-521-82551-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-82551-2hardback
3
ISBN- I 978-0-521-53258-7 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-53258-2paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for
the persistence or accuracy of URLs for extemai or
third-party Intemet Web sites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such
Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Population Issues in Social Choice Theory,
Welfare Economics, and Ethics
This book presents an exploration of the idea of the common or social good, ex-
tended so that altematives with different populations can be ranked. The approach
is, in the main, welfarist, basing rankings on the well-being, broadly conceived, of
those who are alive (or ever lived). The axiomatic method is employed, and top-
ics investigated include the measurement of individual well-being, social attitudes
toward inequality of well-being, the main classes of population principles, princi-
ples that provide incomplete rankings, principles that rank uncertain altematives,
best choices from feasible sets, and applications. The chapters are divided, with
mathematical arguments confined to the second part. The first part is intended to
make the arguments accessible to a more general readership. Although the book can
be read as a defense ofthe critical-level generalized utilitarian class ofprinciples,
comprehensive examinations of other classes are included.
Charles Blackorby is Professor of Economics, University of Warwick, UK. He is
a coauthor of Duality, Separability and Functional Structure and has published
articles in social choice theory and welfare economics. Professor Blackorby is
a Fellow of the Econometric Society and has received awards for his research.
His current research interests are social choice theory, population ethics, welfare
economics, and optimal taxation issues in public economics.
Walter Bossert is Professor of Economics and CIREQ Research Fellow at the
University of Montreal, Canada. He has published articles on social choice the-
ory, bargaining theory, and cooperative game theory. Professor Bossert's culrent
research interests are the theory of individual and collective choice, population
ethics, bargaining theory, and cooperative game theory. He is a member of the
editorial board of Socral Choice andWelfare.
David Donaldson is Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of British
Columbia, Canada. He has received awards for teaching and research and has
published articles on social choice theory and welfare economics. Professor
Donaldson's current research interests include social choice theory, population
ethics, and interpersonal comparisons of well-being using equivalence scales in
welfare economics.
Econometric Society Monographs No. 39
Editors:
Andrew Chesher, University College London
Matthew Jackson, Califomia Institute of Technology
The Econometric Society is an intemational society for the advancement ofeconomic theory in relation
to statistics and mathematics. The Econometric Society Monograph Series is designed to promote the
publication oforiginal research contributions ofhigh quality in mathematical economics and theoretical
and applied econometrics.
Other titles in the series:
G. S. Maddala Limited dependent and qualitative variables in econometrics,0 521 33g25 5
Gerard Debreu Mathematital economics: Twenty papers of Gerard Debreu,0 521 33561 2
Jean-Michel Grandmont Money and value: A retonsideration of t'lassical and neoclassical monetary
economics.0 521 31364 3
Franklin M. Fisher Diseqa ilibrium foundations of equilibrium economics, o 521 37956 j
Andreu Mas-Colellrhe theory of general economic equilihrium: A differentiable approach,
o 521 265t4 2. 0 521 38870 8
Truman F. Bewley, Editor A dyances in econometrics - Fifth World Congress (Volume I),
o 521 46726 I
Truman F. Bewley, Editor A dvances in econometrics - Fifth World Congress (Votume il),
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Herve Moulin At ioms of cooperative decision making,0 521 36055 2, O 5Zl 42459 5
L. G. Godfrey Misspetification tests in econometrics: The Lagrange multiplier principle and other
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Wolfgang Hardle, Applietl nonparametric regression,O 521 42950 |
Jean-Jacques Laffont, EditorAdvances in economit'theory - sixthworld congress (volume I),
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Jean-Jacques Laffont, Editor A dvances in economic theory - Sirth world Congress (volume tt ),
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David M. Kreps and Kenneth F. Wallis, Editors Advances in eutnomics and econometrics - Seyenth
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and econometrics - Eighth World Congress (Volume l il ),0 52 1 81874 5, O 521 52413 X
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Contents
vt
Preface page
1.
Introduction 1
2. Measurement of Individual Well-Being l3
3. Welfarist Social Evaluation 4l
4.
Fixed-Population Principles 68
5. PopulationPrinciples t29
6.
Characterizations and Possibilities 180
7. Uncertainty and Incommensurabilities 209
8. Independence of the Existence of the Dead 253
9.
TemporalConsistency 272
10. Choice Problems and Rationalizability 286
l.
I Applications 320
References 347
Author Index 359
Subject Index 361

Preface
Because the subject matter of this book belongs to economics, philosophy, and
political science, we have attempted to make it accessible to people who do
not want to spend time with complex mathematical arguments. Following the
example of Amartya Sen's Collective Choice and Social Welfare (1970a), each
chapter after the first is divided into two parts. Readers familiar with the math-
ematics of social choice can read both parts, but those who are less accustomed
to the technical aspects ofthe subject can read Part A alone, consulting Part B
as needed. Our intention is to provide some motivation for the questions asked,
explanations of the intuitions that lie behind the proofs, and discussions of the
theorems and their importance. In all chapters except 5 and 6, almost all the un-
supported assertions in Part A are proved in Part B and citations are given there
for the rest. Chapter 6 offers characterizations of the principles presented and
discussed in Chapter 5. As a consequence, some results discussed in Chapter 5
are proved in Chapter 6.
We have not attempted to provide a survey of all the work that has been done
in the area. Rather, we focused on our view of the subject, drawing from the
work of others when it harmonized with our overall plan of investigation.
When preparing the book, we benefited greatly from the comments of many
colleagues, but two people deserve special mention. John Broome helped us
with philosophical difficulties, and we thank him for his inspiration and en-
couragement. We were able to read his bookWeighing Lives (20Ma) and we
found it extremely valuable. In many ways, it complements this book, offering a
detailed treatment of the philosophical issues that we pass over. John Weymark
has read a large part of the book and his detailed comments have made our
presentation and proofs substantially better than they otherwise would be.
Many other people have given us comments and criticisms and we know the
book is better for their help. They include Gustaf Arrhenius, Nick Baigent, Paul
Beaudry, Donald G. Brown, Sam Bucovetsky, Erik Carlson, Peter Danielson,
Marc Fleurbaey, Alan Gibbard, Walter Glannon, James Griffin, Peter Ham-
mond, Thomas Hurka, Frank Jackson, Matthew Jackson, Serge-Christophe
Kolm, Ashok Kotwal, Guy Laroque, Jean-Frangois Laslier, Michel Le Breton,
Rosa Matzkin, Stephan Michelson, Philippe Mongin, Adam Morton, Herv6
viii
Preface
Moulin, Gordon Myers, Klaus Nehring, Marc Nerlove, Lars Osberg, Hans
Peters, Wlodek Rabinowicz, El Rand, James Redekop, John Roemer, Amartya
Sen, Richard Sikora, Kotaro Suzumura, william Thomson, peter vallentyne,
Gary wedeking, catherine wilson, and participants at numerous conferences,
workshops, and seminars.
we thank Matthew Jackson, the editor of this series; Scott parris, Senior
Editor, Economics and Finance, cambridge University press; Simina calin
and Helen Lee of cambridge University press; and Susan Detwiler and her
team at TechBooks. Re5earch support through grants from the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of canada is gratefully acknowledged.
D.D.
C.B., W.B., February 2005
CHAPTER
1
Introduction
t
In discussions of environmental problems, descriptions of histories of the world
over the next century or two are often linked to policy alternatives. In these his-
tories, standards of living as well as the size and composition of populations
may differ at different times. It might be said, for example, that, if present poli-
cies continue, we can expect a large population, low average standards of living,
environmental degradation, and wars as the relative scarcity of land increases.
On the other hand, if responsible environmental and population policies are
adopted, we might be told to expect a smaller population with higher average
standards of living and a world with more resources and less environmental
damage for subsequent generations.
Other policy decisions have population consequences as well. Examples in-
clude the allocation ofpublic funds to prenatal care, the design ofaid packages to
developing countries, public funding ofeducation, legalization ofbirth-control
devices, resource conservation, expenditures on public health, and the design
of social security systems. In addition, individual fertility decisions affect pop-
ulation composition and size both directly and indirectly, as the children have
children. In each of these cases, history will depend, to some extent' on actions
taken.
It is important to ask what it means to say that one of these histories is
better than another. Because population size and individual identities may be
different, this is not a straightforward question. To attempt to provide an answer,
we investigate principles for social evaluation that can be used, together with
factual information, to rank histories. Such an exercise requires examining the
idea of the common good, extended so that it can take account of differences in
population composition and size. We call principles that make comparisons of
alternative histories with respect to their social goodness population principles.
Because changes in policies rarely lead to gains for everyone, principles
must be able to balance gains and losses. In addition, one policy might result in
a larger population with a lower standard of living than another does. Principles
therefore have an ethical dimension. The idea of the common or social good
provides the needed trade-offs by means of a social goodness relation. Instead
of using two relations - one for betterness and one for equal goodness - we
2 Population Issuesin Social Choice Theory, Welfare Economics, and Ethics
focus on a single at-least-as-good-as relation, which combines the two. Two
histories are equally good if and only if each is at least as good as the otheq and
one is better than another if and only if it is at least as good as the other and it
is not the case that the other is at least as good as it. Goodness relations may or
may not be complete. If they are, every pair of histories is ranked.
our main focus is on principles for social evaluation that are commonly
called welfarist (sen 1979). T[rese principles use information about individual
well-being to rank histories, dilegarding all other information. Welfarism resrs,
in the main, on the idea that any two histories with the same population in which
everyone is equally well off are equally good, a condition commonly called the
Pareto-indifference axiom.
welfarist principles regard values such as individual liberty and autonomy as
instrumental: valuable because of their contribution to well-being. In addition,
virtues and fair procedures may have instrumental value. Because of this, it
is important to employ a comprehensive notion of well-being such as that of
Griflin (1986) or Sumner (1996). we focus on rifetime well-being and include
enjoyment, pleasure and the absence of pain, good health, length of life, auton-
omy, liberty, understanding, accomplishment, and good human relationships
as aspects of it. Individuals who are autonomous and fully informed may have
self-regarding preferences that accord with their well-being, but we do not as-
sume that they do. In addition, sentient nonhuman animals have experiences,
and it is possible to take account of their interests. we reserve our discussion
of that possibility for Chapter I l, however, and focus on human beings in the
rest of the book.
Most principles are impartial in the sense that individual identities do not
matter. Because impartiality is ethically fundamental, all the principles that we
investigate satisfy it.
In a large part ofthe book, we require the social atleast-as-good-as relation to
be complete. we are not committed to this, but we see the exercise as important.
we want to know whether there are reasonable principles that provide complete
orderings of alternative histories. Some principles, however, fail to rank some
of them. This may occur for one of two reasons: it may be impossible to obtain
enough information, or there may be no fact of the matter. In the first case, it
is possible to generate an incomplete ranking by using several principles that
generate complete rankings when information is perfect. In the second case,
principles must be able to take account of the incommensurabilities directly.
See Chapter 7 for a discussion.
Although the idea of the common good plays an important role in discussions
of government policies and consequentialist moral theories, we do not consider
the normative status of actions. In situations in which actions lead with certainty
to particular histories, we use population principles to rank actions according
to their goodness but do not provide a link with obligations. As a result, our
work is consistent with rule consequentialism, which assesses moral rules by
estimating their probable consequences, and with supererogation, the idea that
some actions that have very good consequences but require great sacrifices by
the agents taking them are beyond the call of duty.