Rawlsian social welfare function

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Updated: Aug 20, 2021

The social welfare function that uses as its measure of social welfare the utility of the worst-off member of society. The following argument can be used to motivate the Rawlsian social welfare function. Imagine a group of individuals who have not yet entered the economy (they are ‘behind the veil of ignorance’) so do not yet know what position they will occupy. That is, they may become rich members of the economy or poor members. If an extremely risk-averse individual would nronose the Rawlsian. An extremely risk-averse individual would propose the Rawlsian.

Reference: Oxford Press Dictonary of Economics, 5th edt.


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James Knight
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James is a lead content editor for Invezz. He's an avid trader and golfer, who spends an inordinate amount of time watching Leicester City and the… read more.