Abstract
In this article, the beginnings of a new approach to the theory of aggregation are developed. The basic idea is that aggregation should involve two things: (a) data over which social preferences are defined should be mapped into a smaller-dimensional space, and (b) there should exist an ordering on that lower-dimensional space such that an improvement in this criterion implies an improvement for any of a class of social preference functions and of a class of individual preference relations defined over the original space. Results are developed which show that this conception of aggregation can yield meaningful results; particularly with respect to comparisons of ‘real national income’ in two situations, for a given economy.
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This article is presented upon the occasion of Leo Hurwicz’s 91st birthday, and in celebration of his receipt of the Prize in Honor of Alfred Nobel.
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Moore, J.C. On aggregation and welfare analysis. Rev Econ Design 14, 95–129 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10058-009-0080-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10058-009-0080-0