In this paper, we challenge the usual argument which says that competition is a fair mechanism because it ranks individuals according to their relative preferences between effort and leisure. This argument, we claim, is very insuficient as a justification of fairness in competiton, and we show...

This essay explores the possibility of modelling, within a framework of individual optimization, choice based on moral commitment. The basis is Sen’s (1977) classic article. The standard tool of utility maximization is replaced by Sen’s idea of a "ranking of action-rankings", to which I add...

The concept of a ‘well-ordered-society’ is central to Rawls’s theory of justice. In such a society, the agents are assumed to ‘comply with’ the principles of justice . This essay aims to clarify the notion of ‘compliance’ by using concepts from economic theory heretofore absent...

This paper offers an analysis of the optimality of unemployment benefits based on the concept of no-envy. Using a general equilibrium framework whit uncertainty, we derive the conditions for a trade-off between the intensity of envy and the expected percentage of envious persons. If the...

A reexamination of the Clower-Leijonhufvud approach to Keynesian theory is presented. Central elements are the lack of information available to atomistic economic agents in a decentralized environment, and the insistence on multi-period analysis. Such a reexamination is necessary to avoid the...

Many acts of sacrifice cannot be accounted for as instances of sophisticated selfishness, altruism, Kantian duty, or collusion of the powerful. Economists find these acts puzzling and seek to accomodate them within standard instrumental models of increasing complexity. The paper argues in favor...

Wage and price formation are analysed in a general equilibrium model combining wage bargaining, monopolistic competition, stochastic demand, and technological constraints. The alternative implications of "efficient" and "right-to-manage" models of bargaining are studied. The price-cost margin is...

This paper examines the introduction of monopolistic competition into wage bargaining models : in addition to capital-labour substitution, we also consider a cost-push effect. The right-to-manage model requires strong restrictions on the objective functions and leads to problematic conclusions...

This paper presents a philosophical discussion of the ethical foundations of economic competition, based in large part on Emmanuel Levinas's theory of exteriority and of responsibility for the "Other". The claim is that competition, notwithstanding its positive effects in terms of efficiency and...