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Abstract

Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 162-184 (2000)

“Responsibility and Compensation -A New Paradigm in Welfare Economics-”
Kotaro Suzumura (The Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University), Naoki Yoshihara (The Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University)

Beginning with Ronald Dworkin's seminal work on the equality of resources rather than equality of welfare, a new paradigm in welfare economics is emerging, This new paradigm is non-welfaristic in nature in that the social judgements on goodness of resource allocations are based on more information than individual welfare alone, where the crucial role is played by the concept of responsibility and compensation. This paper provides a succinct survey and critical evaluation of the main contributions in this literature. It also tries to exemplify the use and usefulness of this viewpoint in the context of the welfare economics of global warming.