Collective choice and social welfare

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

'Can the values which individual members of society attach to different alternatives be aggregated into values for society as a whole, in a way that is both fair and theoretically sound? Is the majority principle a workable rule for making decisions? How should income inequality be measured? When and how can we compare the distribution of welfare in different societies?' So reads the 1998 Nobel citation by the Swedish Academy, acknowledging Amartya Sen's important contributions in welfare economics and particularly his work in Collective Choice and Social Welfare.

Originally published in 1970, this classic study has been recognized for its ground-breaking role in integrating economics and ethics, and for its influence in opening up new areas of research in social choice. This expanded edition preserves the text of the original while presenting eleven new chapters of fresh arguments and results. Both the new and original chapters alternate between non-mathematical treatments of Sen's subjects accessible to all, and mathematical arguments and proofs. A new introduction gives a far-reaching, up-to-date overview of the subject of social choice.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This Noble Prize recipient was a pioneer in examining how individual preferences get translated into decisions made by nations and organizations. What are the limitations of the voting system used to elect the president and the members of congress? What are the implications for justice of the mechanisms used to move from individual desires to government policy? Expanding on the early work of Condorcet, Pareto, Arrow, and others, Sen provides rigorous mathematical argumentation on the merits of voting mechanisms. The first approximately 200 pages of this work were published in 1970. A new expanded preface and introduction have now been added. The last 200 pages are more concerned with the implications of collective decision making for economic justice and societal welfare. How one defines "justice" is central to the second half of this opus, along with the philosophical consequences of social choice mechanisms. This book is certainly not for those new to economics or philosophy. Even for those with graduate training, it will serve as a frequently consulted reference and a necessity on one's book shelf--but not bedside reading. An excellent bibliography and subject index are included. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --John F. O'Connell, College of Holy Cross