Abstract
Equal treatment of all generations is a fundamental ethical principle in intertemporal welfare economics. This principle is expressed in anonymity axioms of orderings on the set of infinite utility streams. We first show that an ordering satisfies finite anonymity, uniform Pareto, weak non-substitution, and sup continuity if and only if it is represented by an increasing, continuous function that is a natural extension of the limit function. We then show that whenever such an ordering is infinitely anonymous, it depends only on the liminf and limsup of any utility stream. Our results imply that in ethically ranking utility streams, reflecting only infinitely long-run movements is possible, with liminf and limsup particularly essential, but it is impossible to respect finite generations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-20 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Social Choice and Welfare |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2016 Jul 4 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
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Limit representations of intergenerational equity. / Sakai, Toyotaka.
In: Social Choice and Welfare, 04.07.2016, p. 1-20.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Limit representations of intergenerational equity
AU - Sakai, Toyotaka
PY - 2016/7/4
Y1 - 2016/7/4
N2 - Equal treatment of all generations is a fundamental ethical principle in intertemporal welfare economics. This principle is expressed in anonymity axioms of orderings on the set of infinite utility streams. We first show that an ordering satisfies finite anonymity, uniform Pareto, weak non-substitution, and sup continuity if and only if it is represented by an increasing, continuous function that is a natural extension of the limit function. We then show that whenever such an ordering is infinitely anonymous, it depends only on the liminf and limsup of any utility stream. Our results imply that in ethically ranking utility streams, reflecting only infinitely long-run movements is possible, with liminf and limsup particularly essential, but it is impossible to respect finite generations.
AB - Equal treatment of all generations is a fundamental ethical principle in intertemporal welfare economics. This principle is expressed in anonymity axioms of orderings on the set of infinite utility streams. We first show that an ordering satisfies finite anonymity, uniform Pareto, weak non-substitution, and sup continuity if and only if it is represented by an increasing, continuous function that is a natural extension of the limit function. We then show that whenever such an ordering is infinitely anonymous, it depends only on the liminf and limsup of any utility stream. Our results imply that in ethically ranking utility streams, reflecting only infinitely long-run movements is possible, with liminf and limsup particularly essential, but it is impossible to respect finite generations.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84976871028&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00355-016-0973-0
DO - 10.1007/s00355-016-0973-0
M3 - Article
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - Social Choice and Welfare
JF - Social Choice and Welfare
SN - 0176-1714
ER -