Escaping the Repugnant Conclusion: Rank-Discounted Utilitarianism with Variable Population

23 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2012

See all articles by Geir B. Asheim

Geir B. Asheim

University of Oslo - Department of Economics; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Stephane Zuber

Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)

Date Written: September 21, 2012

Abstract

Evaluation of climate policies and other issues requires a variable population setting where population is endogenously determined. We propose and axiomatize the rank-discounted critical-level utilitarian social welfare order. It is shown to fill out the space between critical-level utilitarianism and (a version of) critical-level leximin. Moreover, it satisfies many conditions and principles used to evaluate variable population criteria. In particular, it avoids the repugnant conclusion even when the critical level is zero.

Keywords: social evaluation, population ethics, critical-level utilitarianism, social discounting

JEL Classification: D630, D710, H430, Q560

Suggested Citation

Asheim, Geir B. and Zuber, Stephane, Escaping the Repugnant Conclusion: Rank-Discounted Utilitarianism with Variable Population (September 21, 2012). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 3958, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2162855 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2162855

Geir B. Asheim

University of Oslo - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 1095 Blindern
N-0317 Oslo
Norway
+47-2285 5498 (Phone)
+47-2285 5035 (Fax)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.CESifo.de

Stephane Zuber (Contact Author)

Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS) ( email )

45, rue d'Ulm
F-75230 Paris Cedex 05
France

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