Chapter_12 收入再分配.pptVIP

CHAPTER 12 INCOME REDISTRIBUTION: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES The Distribution of Income Among Households Who is Poor? Poverty Rate (1960-2004) Measuring Poverty Poverty line Interpreting the Distributional Data Census income consists only of family’s cash receipts in-kind transfers Official figures ignore taxes Income measured annually Consumption data may provide better assessment of well-being Problems defining unit of observation Simple Utilitarianism Utilitarian Social Welfare Function:W = F(U1, U2, ,,,, Un) “Promote Greatest Good for Greatest Number” Additive Social Welfare FunctionW = U1 + U2 + … + Un Assume Individuals have identical utility functions that depend only on their incomes Utility functions exhibit diminishing marginal utility of income Total amount of income is fixed Implications for Income Inequality Evaluating the Assumptions Assumption 1 Assumption 2 Assumption 3 The Maximin Criterion Social Welfare FunctionW = Minimum(U1, U2, …, Un) Maximin criterion - No inequality acceptable unless it works to the advantage of the least well off Original position – “behind the veil of ignorance” Critique of Rawls Pareto Efficient Income Redistribution Will redistribution always make someone worse off? Utility FunctionUi = F(X1, X2, …, Xn, U1, U2, …, Ui-1, Ui+1, …, Um) Redistribution if gain in utility from charity exceeds loss from reduced consumption Government reduces cost of redistribution Income distribution as a Public Good Social safety net Social stability Nonindividualistic Views Fundamental principles specifying income distribution derived independent of tastes Incomes distributed equally as matter of principle Plato’s 4:1 ratio of highest to lowest income Commodity Egalitarianism Other Considerations Processes versus Outcomes Fairness of distribution of income judged by fairness of process that generated it Robert Nozick Society cannot redistribute income because society has no income to redistri