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Multidimensional Welfare Aggregation

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  • Christian List

Abstract

Most accounts of welfare aggregation in the tradition of Arrow's (1951/1963) and Sen's (1970/1979) social-choice-theoretic frameworks represent the welfare of an individual in terms of a single welfare ordering or a single scalar-valued welfare function. I develop a multidimensional generalization of Arrow's and Sen's frameworks, representing individual welfare in terms of multiple personal welfare functions, corresponding to multiple `dimensions' of welfare. I show that, as in the one-dimensional case, the existence of attractive aggregation procedures depends on certain informational assumptions, specifically about the measurability of welfare and its comparability not only across individuals but also across dimensions. I state several impossibility and possibility results. Under Arrow-type conditions, insufficient comparability across individuals leads to dictatorship of a single individual, while insufficient comparability across dimensions leads to dominance of a single dimension. Given sufficient comparability both across individuals and across dimensions, a range of possibilities emerges. I discuss the substantive implications of the results.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian List, 2004. "Multidimensional Welfare Aggregation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 119(1_2), pages 119-142, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:119:y:2004:i:1_2:p:119-142
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Binder, 2009. "Some Considerations Regarding the Problem of Multidimensional Utility," Jena Economics Research Papers 2009-099, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    2. Tahsin Mehdi, 2019. "Stochastic Dominance Approach to Measuring Child Development," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 12(5), pages 1567-1588, October.
    3. Tahsin Mehdi, 2019. "Stochastic Dominance Approach to OECD’s Better Life Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 917-954, June.

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