TY - UNPB

T1 - Trade-offs between justices, economics, and efficiency

AU - Baumgärtner, Stefan

AU - Glotzbach, Stefanie

AU - Hoberg, Nikolai

AU - Quaas, Martin F.

AU - Stumpf, Klara Helene

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - We argue that economics – as the scientific method of analyzing trade-offs – canbe helpful (and may even be indispensable) for assessing the trade-off betweenintergenerational and intragenerational justice. Economic analysis can delineate the “opportunity set” of politics with respect to the two normative objectives of inter- and intragenerational justice, i.e. it can describe which outcomes are feasible in achieving the two objectives in a given context, and which are not. It can distinguish efficient from inefficient uses of instruments of justice. It can identify the “opportunity cost” of attaining one justice to a higher degree, in terms of less achievement of the other. We find that, under very general conditions, (1) efficiency in the use of instruments of justice implies that thereis rivalry between the two justices and the opportunity cost of either justice is positive; (2) negative opportunity costs of achieving one justice exist if there is facilitation between the two justices, which can only happen if instruments of justice are used inefficiently; (3) in outcomes of inefficient uses of instruments of justice in the interior of the opportunity set, the two justices are independent of each other and the opportunity cost of either justice is zero.

AB - We argue that economics – as the scientific method of analyzing trade-offs – canbe helpful (and may even be indispensable) for assessing the trade-off betweenintergenerational and intragenerational justice. Economic analysis can delineate the “opportunity set” of politics with respect to the two normative objectives of inter- and intragenerational justice, i.e. it can describe which outcomes are feasible in achieving the two objectives in a given context, and which are not. It can distinguish efficient from inefficient uses of instruments of justice. It can identify the “opportunity cost” of attaining one justice to a higher degree, in terms of less achievement of the other. We find that, under very general conditions, (1) efficiency in the use of instruments of justice implies that thereis rivalry between the two justices and the opportunity cost of either justice is positive; (2) negative opportunity costs of achieving one justice exist if there is facilitation between the two justices, which can only happen if instruments of justice are used inefficiently; (3) in outcomes of inefficient uses of instruments of justice in the interior of the opportunity set, the two justices are independent of each other and the opportunity cost of either justice is zero.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

KW - economics

KW - efficiency

KW - intragenerational and intergenerational justice

KW - normative objectives

KW - opportunity set

KW - opportunity cost

KW - scarce resources

KW - economics

KW - efficiency

KW - intragenerational and intergenerational justice

KW - normative objectives

KW - opportunity set

KW - opportunity cost

KW - scarce ressources

KW - Economics

KW - economics

KW - efficiency

KW - intragenerational and intergenerational justice

KW - normative objectives

KW - opportunity set

KW - opportunity cost

KW - scarce resources

M3 - Working papers

T3 - Working Paper Series in Economics

BT - Trade-offs between justices, economics, and efficiency

PB - Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre der Universität Lüneburg

CY - Lüneburg

ER -