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Maximin welfare orderings with variable population size

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Abstract

This note deals with some features of social evaluation when the societies which are to be compared can be of different population size. One question arising when the number of people is allowed to vary is how to deal with the addition of one further person to some given society. Using an axiom for this kind of population change together with several well-established fixed population properties, a characterization of a welfare ordering based on the Maximin-criterion is provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Wirtschaftstheorie und OR, UniversitÄt Karlsruhe, Germany

    W. Bossert

  2. Department of Economics, University of British Columbia, 997-1873 East Mall, V6T 1W5, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

    W. Bossert

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  1. W. Bossert
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Additional information

I am indebted to David Donaldson and an anonymous referee for many valuable suggestions which considerably improved the paper.

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Bossert, W. Maximin welfare orderings with variable population size. Soc Choice Welfare 7, 39–45 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01832919

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01832919

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