IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/jinsec/v16y2020i2p145-150_3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Logic is a harsh mistress: welfare economics for economists

Author

Listed:
  • Leeson, Peter T.

Abstract

Every economic explanation assumes maximization. How strange, then, that few economists accept one of maximization's most straightforward implications: every observed institution is efficient. My aim is to persuade economists of this fact and thus to dissuade them from making illogical claims about social welfare. To frame my argument, I consider the “property rights approach” to institutions developed by Yoram Barzel. I speculate that economists resist what maximization implies about institutional efficiency because they think that efficiency-always precludes them from improving the world, and hope of improving the world is what attracted them to economics in the first place. But, besides being inconsistent, resistance is unnecessary: efficiency-always does not preclude economists, or anyone else, from improving the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Leeson, Peter T., 2020. "Logic is a harsh mistress: welfare economics for economists," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 145-150, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:16:y:2020:i:2:p:145-150_3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744137419000109/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leeson, Peter T. & Boettke, Peter J. & Lemke, Jayme S., 2014. "Wife Sales," Review of Behavioral Economics, now publishers, vol. 1(4), pages 349-379, December.
    2. Leeson, Peter T., 2014. "Human Sacrifice," Review of Behavioral Economics, now publishers, vol. 1(1-2), pages 137-165, January.
    3. Stigler, George J, 1992. "Law or Economics?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 455-468, October.
    4. Leeson,Peter T., 2014. "Anarchy Unbound," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107629707, January.
    5. Peter T. Leeson, 2013. "Vermin Trials," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(3), pages 811-836.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jennifer Murtazashvili & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2020. "Wealth-destroying states," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 353-371, March.
    2. Meina Cai & Ilia Murtazashvili & Jennifer Murtazashvili & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2020. "Individualism and governance of the commons," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 184(1), pages 175-195, July.
    3. Murtazashvili,Jennifer Brick & Murtazashvili,Ilia, 2021. "Land, the State, and War," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108493413, July.
    4. Frolov, Daniil, 2019. "From institutions to extitutions to the post-institutional theory of institutional anomalies," MPRA Paper 95960, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Sep 2019.
    5. Murphy, Ryan H., 2020. "Economics is whatever the comparative advantage of economists is: a comment on Leeson (2020)," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 553-556, August.
    6. Saeed Gholamrezai & Vahid Aliabadi & Pouria Ataei, 2021. "Recognizing dimensions of sustainability entrepreneurship among local producers of agricultural inputs," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(14), pages 2500-2531, December.
    7. Adam Crepelle & Tate Fegley & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2024. "Military societies: self-governance and criminal justice in Indian country," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 367-385, June.
    8. Andrew Young, 2022. "The Peace of God," Rationality and Society, , vol. 34(1), pages 28-55, February.
    9. Cai, Meina & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer, 2020. "The politics of land property rights," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 151-167, April.
    10. Harris,Colin & Cai,Meina & Murtazashvili,Ilia & Murtazashvili,Jennifer Brick, 2020. "The Origins and Consequences of Property Rights," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108969055, July.
    11. Brian C. Albrecht & Joshua R. Hendrickson & Alexander William Salter, 2022. "Evolution, uncertainty, and the asymptotic efficiency of policy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 169-188, July.
    12. Tate Fegley & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2023. "From defunding to refunding police: institutions and the persistence of policing budgets," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 196(1), pages 123-140, July.
    13. Bustamante, Pedro & Gomez, Marcela & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Weiss, Martin, 2020. "Spectrum anarchy: why self-governance of the radio spectrum works better than we think," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(6), pages 863-882, December.
    14. Ilia Murtazashvili & Yang Zhou, 2024. "Complex externalities, pandemics, and public choice," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 201(3), pages 607-622, December.
    15. Alston, Eric & Crepelle, Adam & Law, Wilson & Murtazashvili, Ilia, 2021. "The chronic uncertainty of American Indian property rights," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 473-488, June.
    16. Ilia Murtazashvili, 2023. "Does capitalism have a future? A review essay of Peter Boettke’s The Struggle for a Better World and Daniel Bromley’s Possessive Individualism: A Crisis of Capitalism," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 36(4), pages 589-604, December.
    17. Mark Koyama, 2020. "A review essay on The European Guilds," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 277-287, March.
    18. Blaž Remic, 2021. "Environment as a Resource, not a Constraint," Journal of Contextual Economics (JCE) – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 141(1-2), pages 85-107.
    19. Alexander William Salter, 2024. "Rationally revealing religion: in defense of Ekelund and Tollison on method," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 201(1), pages 27-38, October.
    20. Terry L. Anderson & Ilia Murtazashvili & Dominic P. Parker, 2024. "The political economy of American Indian policy: introduction to a special issue," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 187-191, June.
    21. Rosolino A. Candela & Vincent J. Geloso, 2021. "Trade or raid: Acadian settlers and native Americans before 1755," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 549-575, September.
    22. Ryan H. Murphy, 2023. "State capacity, economic freedom, and classical liberalism," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 165-187, June.
    23. Candela, Rosolino A. & Piano, Ennio E., 2020. "The Art and Science of Economic Explanation: Introduction to the Special Issue in Honor of Yoram Barzel," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 119-126, April.
    24. Hudik, Marek, 2021. "Push factors of endogenous institutional change," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 504-514.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter T. Leeson & Paola A. Suarez, 2015. "Superstition and Self-Governance," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: New Thinking in Austrian Political Economy, volume 19, pages 47-66, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Anthony Gill, 2021. "The comparative endurance and efficiency of religion: a public choice perspective," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(3), pages 313-334, December.
    3. Gershman, Boris, 2015. "The economic origins of the evil eye belief," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 119-144.
    4. Manvir Singh & Pascal Boyer & Leeson, Peter T & Mckay Ryan & Bentall, Richard P & Sarah Peacey & Ruth Mace & Schimmelpfennig, Robin & Muthukrishna, Michael, 2021. "Magic, explanations, and evil: the origins and design of witches and sorcerers," Post-Print hal-03256601, HAL.
    5. Peter T Leeson, 2014. "Oracles," Rationality and Society, , vol. 26(2), pages 141-169, May.
    6. Escalante, Edwar E. & March, Raymond J., 2020. "Fighting on Christmas: brawling as self-governance in rural Peru," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 355-368, June.
    7. Leeson, Peter T. & Coyne, Christopher J., 2012. "Sassywood," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 608-620.
    8. Douglas W. Allen & Peter T. Leeson, 2015. "Institutionally Constrained Technology Adoption: Resolving the Longbow Puzzle," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(3).
    9. Bustamante, Pedro & Gomez, Marcela & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Weiss, Martin, 2020. "Spectrum anarchy: why self-governance of the radio spectrum works better than we think," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(6), pages 863-882, December.
    10. Paola A. Suarez, 2018. "Child-bride marriage and female welfare," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 1-28, February.
    11. Clara Jace, 2019. "An economic theory of economic analysis: the case of the School of Salamanca," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 181(3), pages 375-397, December.
    12. Peter T. Leeson & Jacob W. Russ, 2018. "Witch Trials," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(613), pages 2066-2105, August.
    13. Harris,Colin & Cai,Meina & Murtazashvili,Ilia & Murtazashvili,Jennifer Brick, 2020. "The Origins and Consequences of Property Rights," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108969055, July.
    14. Peter Leeson, 2014. "Pirates, prisoners, and preliterates: anarchic context and the private enforcement of law," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 365-379, June.
    15. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2011. "Appropriation, violent enforcement, and transaction costs: a critical survey," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 227-253, April.
    16. David Emanuel Andersson, 2021. "Spontaneous Order and the Hayekian Challenge to Interdisciplinary Social Scientists," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 49(4), pages 363-375, December.
    17. Vlad Tarko & Kyle O’Donnell, 2019. "Escape from Europe: a calculus of consent model of the origins of liberal institutions in the North American colonies," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 70-95, March.
    18. Alex Coad, 2007. "Firm Growth: a Survey," Post-Print halshs-00155762, HAL.
    19. Williamson, Oliver E., 1995. "Some uneasiness with the Coase Theorem: Comment," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 9-11, May.
    20. Valentiny, Pál, 2018. "Coase-kép másképp: középpontban a közszolgáltatások [Coase otherwise: Public utilities]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 346-381.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:16:y:2020:i:2:p:145-150_3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/joi .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.