Econometrica Vol. 32 No. 3 1964
On the Economic Welfare Function
Abstract
This welfare index defines the preference ordering of the society among all possible social states. In this case, a social state is expressed as a point in an m x n-dimensional vector x -(x, . .., x'), and the welfare index can be considered as a utility index defined in an m x n-dimensional space. We can therefore define the marginal rate of substitution for society between the mth individual's nth commodity and the ith individual's jth commodity. Set W= C (constant) and consider this relation as the function that determines the value of x' depending on the values of other x7.s. Differentiate this relation with respect to X4. Then, we get
- DOI
- 10.2307/1913039
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 316
- Sources
- openalex crossref