Abstract
In this paper, we argue that social decisionmaking is subject to a fundamental conflict between consistency and completeness. We show that a consistent welfarist method of policy assessment, that is, one that never violates the Pareto principle, may be incomplete in the sense of being incapable of providing a solution to important social welfare problems.
Disciplines
Economics | Law and Economics
Date of this Version
November 2004
Recommended Citation
Giuseppe Dari-Mattiacci and Nuno Garoupa, "The Unsolvable Dilemma of a Paretian Policymaker" (November 2004). George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series. Working Paper 10.
https://law.bepress.com/gmulwps/art10