{"title":"Ranking blame","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s00199-023-01547-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>A social planner wants to rank people. Utilitarianism implies that a natural ranking which orders people from most to least sensitive to their rank is the best ranking. But people’s feelings toward the social planner, like blame or gratitude, can depend both on their assigned rank, and on the alternatives they might have been assigned. As a result, the social planner needs to do pairwise comparisons and there may not be a best ranking due to intransitive cycles. This paper shows the possibility of the coexistence of a best choice and non-transitivity. It illustrates how to tell when a best ranking exists, and that when it exists, it is indeed the natural ranking. When this best does not exist, an alternative second-best group ranking strategy is proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":47982,"journal":{"name":"Economic Theory","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Economic Theory","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00199-023-01547-4","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
A social planner wants to rank people. Utilitarianism implies that a natural ranking which orders people from most to least sensitive to their rank is the best ranking. But people’s feelings toward the social planner, like blame or gratitude, can depend both on their assigned rank, and on the alternatives they might have been assigned. As a result, the social planner needs to do pairwise comparisons and there may not be a best ranking due to intransitive cycles. This paper shows the possibility of the coexistence of a best choice and non-transitivity. It illustrates how to tell when a best ranking exists, and that when it exists, it is indeed the natural ranking. When this best does not exist, an alternative second-best group ranking strategy is proposed.
期刊介绍：
The purpose of Economic Theory is to provide an outlet for research - in all areas of economics based on rigorous theoretical reasoning, and
- on specific topics in mathematics which is motivated by the analysis of economic problems. Economic Theory''s scope encompasses - but is not limited to - the following fields. - classical and modern equilibrium theory
- cooperative and non-cooperative game theory
- macroeconomics
- social choice and welfare
- uncertainty and information, intertemporal economics (including dynamical systems)
- public economics
- international and developmental economics
- financial economics, money and banking
- industrial organization Economic Theory also publishes surveys if they clearly picture the basic ideas at work in some areas, the essential technical apparatus which is used and the central questions which remain open. The development of a productive dialectic between stylized facts and abstract formulations requires that economic relevance be at the forefront. Thus, correct, and innovative, mathematical analysis is not enough; it must be motivated by - and contribute to - the understanding of substantive economic problems.
Officially cited as: Econ Theory
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