Welfare Theory, Public Action, and Ethical Values

Introduction to Welfare theory, public action and ethical values Revisiting the history of welfare economics By Roger E. Backhouse, Antoinette Baujard and Tamotsu Nishizawa The Introduction explains the concepts of welfarism and non-welfarism, relating it to the way economistss have typically approached the problem of welfare. Drawing on the chapters in the volume, it explores ways in which economists have departed from welfarism when tackling practical problems and discussing public policy. Welfarism, non-welfarism, welfare, public policy, ethics, economics, individualism Introduction Welfare economics is the part of economics that deals with evaluating states of the world and formulating recommendations for policies that would improve the well-being of society as a whole. It covers not only a body of policy advice but, arguably more important, a body of principles on which such evaluations and recommendations should be based. Economists frequently make the claim that how well-off society is, which we refer to as social welfare, depends solely on the well-being of the individuals making up that society. In other words, if a change does not make any individual better off, then social welfare cannot have increased--