Escaping the repugnant conclusion: Rank-discounted utilitarianism with variable population

Arbeitspapier

Evaluation of climate policies and other issues requires a variable population setting where population is endogenously determined. We propose and axiomatize the rank-discounted critical-level utilitarian social welfare order. It is shown to fill out the space between critical-level utilitarianism and (a version of) critical-level leximin. Moreover, it satisfies many conditions and principles used to evaluate variable population criteria. In particular, it avoids the repugnant conclusion even when the critical level is zero.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 3958

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations ; Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate ; Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
• Subject: social evaluation ; population ethics ; critical-level utilitarianism ; social discounting ; Soziale Wohlfahrtsfunktion ; Utilitarismus ; Bevölkerung ; Soziale Diskontrate ; Klimaschutz

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Asheim, Geir B. ; Zuber, Stéphane
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65381
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET