Policy Reform Without Tears

27 Pages Posted: 26 Oct 1999

See all articles by Glenn W. Harrison

Glenn W. Harrison

Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business

Jesper Jensen

TECA Training ApS

Morten I. Lau

Durham Business School

Thomas F. Rutherford

Centre for Energy Policy and Economics

Date Written: August 1999

Abstract

Most of the major policy reforms being considered result in winners and losers. It would be nice if this were not so, and one could devise reforms that were "win-win" propositions when one digs beneath the public rhetoric. Unfortunately, life does not often present reforms that meet the Pareto criterion of economists that nobody be worse off after the reform than they were before it. We illustrate how one can use a quantitative model of the Danish economy to determine what reforms could be Pareto improvements if one allowed compensation of losers.

JEL Classification: D63, D61, D78, D58, H2, C68

Suggested Citation

Harrison, Glenn William and Jensen, Jesper and Lau, Morten Igel and Rutherford, Thomas F., Policy Reform Without Tears (August 1999). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=185548 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.185548

Glenn William Harrison (Contact Author)

Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 4050
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
United States
407-489-3088 (Phone)
253-830-7636 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.cear.gsu.edu/

Jesper Jensen

TECA Training ApS ( email )

Mosevej 55
Hørsholm, 2970
Denmark
+45 24 20 50 00 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tecatraining.dk

Morten Igel Lau

Durham Business School ( email )

Mill Hill Lane
Durham, DH1 3LB
United Kingdom

Thomas F. Rutherford

Centre for Energy Policy and Economics ( email )

ETH-Zentrum
Zurich, CH-8092
United States
+41 (0)44/632 6359 (Phone)
+41 (0)44/632 1622 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.cepe.ethz.ch/