Issues in Contemporary Economics volume 1: Markets and Welfare.

• Author: Saposnik, Rubin

This volume is the Proceedings of the Ninth World Congress of the International Economic Association held in Athens, Greece in August/September 1989. This volume of proceedings offers a varied collection of papers, all of which are of considerable interest to economists and social scientists in general.

The book opens with an introduction by Kenneth Arrow in which he introduces and gives a brief summary of the papers that follow. The fifteen papers that follow are organized in three parts. Part I contains six plenary papers, Part II is made up of six papers dealing with the concept of equilibrium, and Part III consists of three papers that are concerned with social choice-welfare theory.

Part I opens with the presidential address of A. K. Sen in which he investigates the role that evaluations of equality play in the functioning of a society. In particular, Sen addresses the two interdependent questions of why equality is desirable as a social norm, and just how does one evaluate the degree of equality. Equality itself is a complex matter: equality is multidimensional. Sen refers heavily to the work of philosophers in this paper.

Anthony B. Atkinson continues Part I by analyzing a basic income scheme in which each person would receive a certain income each month. This income would be completely independent of market forces and would replace all other government transfers and income tax deductions. The only possible deviation from absolute equality in the amount a person receives would be in terms of age. In his analysis Atkinson uses optimal taxation, studies of incentives and public choice theory.

The third plenary paper is by Abel G. Aganbegyan, who is writing from the perspective of the dissolving Soviet Union. Aganbegyan is concerned with the movement from a command to a market economy. He emphasizes the need for raising the standard of living by channeling resources into consumption goods and the general needs of the society. Aganbegyan underscores the link between economic and political reform.

The following paper by Zsuzsa Ferge has heavy sociological content. Ferge is concerned with the segmentation that is occurring in capitalist and socialist societies alike. She argues that increases in the extent of poverty and difficulties with welfare systems contribute to the separation of groups in society. Ferge also claims that there is much unwarranted criticism of welfare systems.

Papers by Frank Hahn and Mahar Mangahas conclude Part I...