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Dworkin’s Paradox

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  • Seung Ki Baek
  • Jung-Kyoo Choi
  • Beom Jun Kim

Abstract

How to distribute welfare in a society is a key issue in the subject of distributional justice, which is deeply involved with notions of fairness. Following a thought experiment by Dworkin, this work considers a society of individuals with different preferences on the welfare distribution and an official to mediate the coordination among them. Based on a simple assumption that an individual’s welfare is proportional to how her preference is fulfilled by the actual distribution, we show that an egalitarian preference is a strict Nash equilibrium and can be favorable even in certain inhomogeneous situations. These suggest how communication can encourage and secure a notion of fairness.

Suggested Citation

  • Seung Ki Baek & Jung-Kyoo Choi & Beom Jun Kim, 2012. "Dworkin’s Paradox," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(6), pages 1-6, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0038529
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038529
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. de Clippel, Geoffroy & Moulin, Herve & Tideman, Nicolaus, 2008. "Impartial division of a dollar," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 139(1), pages 176-191, March.
    4. Sen, Amartya, 1997. "On Economic Inequality," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198292975.
    5. Hausman,Daniel M. & McPherson,Michael S., 2006. "Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy and Public Policy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521846295, October.
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