Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy

by Wilber, Charles K.; Anderson, Elizabeth; Cowen, Tyler; Crocker, David A.; Dawes, Robyn M.; Elster, Jon; Etzioni, Amitai; Evensky, Jerry; Frank, Robert H.; Gilovich, Thomas; Held, Virginia; Hoksbergen, Roland; Hubin, Donald C.; Loury, Glenn C.; Nielsen, Ri

• ISBN13: 9780847687893
• ISBN10: 0847687899
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-12-29
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Ethics, argue the contributors to this book, play an important role in economics. Economists have ethical values that help shape the way they do economics; economic actors have ethical values that help shape their behavior; and economic institutions and policies impact people differently, so that different ethical evaluations must supplement economic evaluations. In Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy, a host of distinguished philosophers and economists investigate the interaction between ethics and economics, both in economic theory and economic policy. This is a very important book for students and scholars of economics, philosophy, public policy, and those concerned with the way these fields interrelate.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(2)
Part I: Economists, Value Judgments, and Economic Theory	3	(62)
Introduction
1. "Ethics and the Invisible Hand"	7	(10)
Jerry Evensky
The Value Neutrality Debate	17	(34)
2. "Ethical Values and Economic Theory: A Survey"	17	(16)
Charles K. Wilber
Roland Hoksbergen
3. "Toward a Better Understanding of the Positive/Normative Distinction in Economics"	33	(18)
Samuel C. Weston
Experimental Evidence	51	(14)
4. "Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation?"	51	(14)
Robert H. Frank
Thomas Gilovich
Dennis T. Regan
Part II: Rationality, Ethics, and the Behavior of Economic Agents	65	(46)
Human Behavior: The Problem and the Evidence	69	(10)
5. "Selfishness and Altruism"	69	(10)
Jon Elster
Imperfect Information and Strategic Behavior	79	(28)
6. "Cooperation"	79	(14)
Robyn M. Dawes
Richard H. Thaler
7. "Trust, Moral Hazards, and Social Economics: Incentives and the Organization of Work"	93	(14)
Charles K. Wilber
Behavior, Values, and Economic Policy	107	(4)
8. "God and the Ghetto"	107	(4)
Glenn C. Loury
Part III: Ethical Theories and Theories of Justice	111	(106)
Consequentialist, Deontological, and Virtue Ethics	119	(32)
9. "Normative Ethical Theories"	119	(20)
W. David Solomon
10. "Toward a Kantian Socio-Economics"	139	(12)
Amitai Etzioni
Feminist Ethics	151	(24)
11. "Feminist Transformations of Moral Theory"	151	(24)
Virginia Held
Ethics and Decision Making in an Organization	175	(12)
12. "Arendt's Action Philosophy and the Manager as Eichmann, Richard III, Faust, or Institution Citizen"	175	(12)
Richard P. Nielsen
Social Ethics and Theories of Justice	187	(30)
13. "Social Justice"	187	(30)
James P. Sterba
Part IV: Economic Institutions and Ethics	217	(136)
The Morality of Markets	223	(28)
14. "The Ethical Limitations of the Market"	223	(28)
Elizabeth Anderson
Inter-Generational Responsibilities	251	(16)
15. "What Do We Owe the Future?"	251	(16)
Paul Streeten
Surrogate Motherhood	267	(20)
16. "Is Women's Labor a Commodity?"	267	(20)
Elizabeth Anderson
Discrimination	287	(18)
17. "Metaphors of Discrimination: A Comparison of Gunnar Myrdal and Gary Becker"	287	(18)
Steven Shulman
Developmental Ethics	305	(48)
David A. Crocker
Part V: Economic Policies and Ethics	353	(52)
Individual Preferences and Pareto Optimality	357	(20)
19. "The Scope and Limits of Preference Sovereignty"	357	(20)
Tyler Cowen
Cost Benefit Analysis	377	(28)
20. "The Moral Justification of Benefit/Cost Analysis"	377	(28)
Donald C. Hubin
Index	405	(8)
About the Contributors	413