A pure theory of population distribution when preferences are ordinal

Arbeitspapier

We model an environment in which individuals prefer to be in a space in which their rank is higher, be it a social space, a geographical space, a work environment, or any other comparison sphere which we refer to in this paper, and without loss of generality, as a region. When the individuals can choose between more than two regions, we inquire: (i) whether a steady-state distribution of the population is reached; (ii) how long it will take to reach a steady state; and (iii) if a steady state obtains, whether at the steady state social welfare is maximized. Despite the fact that when there are three or more regions the mobility paths are more intricate than when there are only two regions, we prove that a steady-state distribution of the population across the regions is reached; we identify the upper bound of the number of time periods that it will take to reach the steady-state distribution; and we show that the steady-state distribution maximizes social welfare. This last result is surprising: even though the individuals act of their own accord, they achieve the socially preferred outcome.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy ; No. 324

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis ; Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium ; General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium: General ; Welfare Economics: General ; Externalities ; General Welfare; Well-Being ; General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies ; Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics ; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
• Subject: Inter-space mobility ; Three or more spaces ; Ordinal preferences ; Distaste for low rank ; Steady-state population distribution ; Social welfare

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Stark, Oded ; Kosiorowski, Grzegorz
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2023

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/283140
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET