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Equitable Intergenerational Preferences on Restricted Domains

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Abstract

This paper examines the existence of equitable preferences on intergenerational consumption paths in an infinite horizon setting. There are two ethical considerations that capture the concept of intergenerational equity: inequality aversion in allocations and equality in treating generations. They are embodied in the Pigou–Dalton principle and anonymity, respectively. We investigate the existence of binary relations that satisfy these two axioms, as well as other standard axioms, such as monotonicity, transitivity, or continuity, on various domains. We show that any domain admitting such a binary relation is quite restricted: its interior is empty and contains no sustainable consumption path.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and IGSSS, Yokohama National University, 79-3 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Toyotaka Sakai

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  1. Toyotaka Sakai
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Correspondence to Toyotaka Sakai.

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Sakai, T. Equitable Intergenerational Preferences on Restricted Domains. Soc Choice Welfare 27, 41–54 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-006-0118-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-006-0118-y

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