Prioritarianism in Practice

Prioritarianism is a systematic framework for analyzing governmental policy that gives extra weight to the well-being of the worse off.

Matthew D. Adler (Edited by), Ole F. Norheim (Edited by)

9781108480932, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 April 2022

400 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 3.8 cm, 1.14 kg

Prioritarianism is an ethical theory that gives extra weight to the well-being of the worse off. In contrast, dominant policy-evaluation methodologies, such as benefit-cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and utilitarianism, ignore or downplay issues of fair distribution. Based on a research group founded by the editors, this important book is the first to show how prioritarianism can be used to assess governmental policies and evaluate societal conditions. This book uses prioritarianism as a methodology to evaluate governmental policy across a variety of policy domains: taxation, health policy, risk regulation, education, climate policy, and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the first to demonstrate how prioritarianism improves on GDP as an indicator of a society's progress over time. Edited by two senior figures in the field with contributions from some of the world's leading economists, this volume bridges the gap from the theory of prioritarianism to its practical application.

1. Introduction Matthew D. Adler and Ole F. Norheim
2. Theory of prioritarianism Matthew D. Adler
3. Well-being measurement Matthew D. Adler and Koen Decancq
4. Prioritarianism and optimal taxation Matti Tuomala and Matthew Weinzierl
5. Prioritarianism and measuring social progress Koen Decancq and Eric Schokkaert
6. Prioritarianism and health policy Richard Cookson, Ole F. Norheim, and Ieva Skarda
7. Prioritarianism and fatality risk regulation James K. Hammitt and Nicolas Treich
8. Prioritarianism and climate change Maddalena Ferranna and Marc Fleurbaey
9. Prioritarianism and education Erwin Ooghe
10. Empirical research on ethical preferences: How popular is prioritarianism? Erik Schokkaert and Benoît Tarroux
11. Prioritarianism and equality of opportunity Paolo Brunori, Francisco H.G. Ferreira, and Vito Peragine
12. Prioritarianism and the covid-19 pandemic David E. Bloom, Maddalena Ferranna, and J. P. Sevilla.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Economic theory & philosophy [KCA], Economics [KC], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]