Abstract
Contemporary reviews of the psychology of distributive justice have tended to emphasize three main allocation principles, equity, equality, and need, and to propose that each operates within a specific sphere of influence. However, results in this area are not entirely consistent, and do not tie in readily with work on attributions of responsibility. This article reviews research into this issue and attempts to encorporate the three principles, together with the notion of causal responsibility, with a single compound equity principle, labelled “equity as desert” (EAD), based on traditional historical and philosophical conceptions of proportional desert. Two empirical studies are reported in support of this idea. The author argues that a compound equity principle of the kind proposed here may be able to provide a unifying theme in an otherwise fragmented area.
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Wagstaff, G.F. Equity, equality, and need: Three principles of justice or one? An analysis of “equity as desert”. Current Psychology 13, 138–152 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686797
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686797