Collective Choice and Social Welfare by Amartya Sen

Description

“Collective Choice and Social Welfare” is a seminal work by the Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen. The book was first published in 1970 and has had a significant impact on the fields of welfare economics and social choice theory. In this work, Sen addresses fundamental questions related to the aggregation of individual preferences into a collective social choice.

Key topics and concepts explored in “Collective Choice and Social Welfare” include:

1. **Social Choice Theory:** Sen examines the mathematical and philosophical aspects of social choice theory, which deals with how individual preferences can be aggregated to make collective decisions. He explores the limitations and challenges of various approaches to social choice.

2. **Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem:** Sen engages with Kenneth Arrow’s famous “Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem,” which states that under certain conditions, it is impossible to create a social welfare function that satisfies all desirable properties. Sen discusses the implications of this theorem and offers insights into potential resolutions.

3. **Individual Freedom and Social Welfare:** Sen emphasizes the importance of individual freedoms and capabilities in the evaluation of social welfare. He introduces the idea of “capabilities approach,” arguing that the focus should be on enhancing people’s capabilities to lead valuable lives rather than solely on utility or preference satisfaction.

Amartya Sen’s contributions to welfare economics have been influential, and “Collective Choice and Social Welfare” remains an essential text for scholars and students interested in social choice theory, welfare economics, and political philosophy.