Ethics in Economics references - August 2000I have used Economic Analysis and Moral Philosophy, by Dan Hausman and Michael McPherson as a text for fourth year students in an Economics and Ethics course. While it is an excellent book, it is very closely argued and requires a good working knowledge of micro theory and analytic philosophy, so it doesn't always work with undergrads (a number of students come away saying that the ethics course was where they really learned micro theory because we explore its assumptions so thoroughly). The "shocking memo" with which Hausman and McPherson open their book makes a great assignment for the beginning of the course. The students are forced to articulate their moral values in connection to economic analysis. I expand upon the book with various recent articles in ethics and economics, similar to those already mentioned. Ross Emmett There are folks on the tch-econ list who will probably cringe at the mention of Henry George and his "Progress and Poverty," but it is a seminal piece. The work of modern Georgists, such as Mason Gaffney, Nic Tideman, Ed Clarke (inventor of the demand revealing process) should at least be addressed. They ask questions such as "what do we have a moral right to own, to make decisions about?" They are concerned with equity not just across one country, but internationally and intergenerationally. This is a question that was addressed by Locke in his Second Treatise. Here are some references I used in a paper on the justice of mineral taxation: Arneson, Richard J. (1991). Lockean Self-Ownership: Towards a Locke, John (1960). Two Treatises of Government, (Cambridge Nozick, Robert (1974). Anarchy, State, and Utopia, (New York: Paine, Thomas (1969). "Agrarian Justice," in Moncure Daniel
Conway Rawls, John (1971). A Theory of Justice, (Cambridge, Rothbard, Murray (1982). The Ethics of Liberty, (Atlantic Try the Earth Rights Institute Homepage to see what Tideman and Gaffney
http://www.earthrights.net/index.html Tideman's homepage can be found at: Gaffney is at UC-Riverside and would probably be very helpful in making suggestions from a Georgist perspective. On Tideman's homepage look at both his published and unpublished work as well as his class on economic justice. My own artcle with Tideman, An Instrumental-variables Approach to Income
Redistribution, Public Choice 52 (1987), looks at fairness and voting
on the distribution of income. Hayek's Road to Serfdom is also worth looking at. I hope others are giving you some ideas from other perspectives. I hope this is helpful and from a different perspective than what you have gotten so far. Morris Coats Two ideas: _Meritocary and Economic Inequality_ edited by Arrow, Bowles and Durlauf includes several provocative articles. Also, my students love to debate the premise in: "Would you save a child?" _New York Times Magazine_ by Peter Singer Sept. 5, 1999. He asks readers if they would spend $200 to save the life of a child and provides toll-free Oxfam and Unicef phone numbers. Later in the article he writes, "I trust that many readers will reach for the phone...now that you have distinguished yourself morally…" Mark H. Maier 818-240-1000 Ext. 5468 "Created Equal" by Milton and Rose Friedman. This is the title of a chapter in Free to Choose and also the title of one of the TV programs that accompanied the book. I believe the video can still be purchased. I have found that showing the video stimulates good class discussions. The ideas of John Rawls and Robert Nozick are always valuable. Unfortunately I don't have specific references to give you. The stuff they have written is fairly heavy going. It may be better to use a text by someone who has written about them. I would suggest a chapter in Robert Frank's Choosing the Right Pond. He does an excellent job of both explaining and critiquing their ideas. Robert Rycroft Two things immediately come to mind, both by the late Kenneth Byron W. Brown Mail to: Telephone: As a start might I suggest: Much of my research focuses on the subject of ethics and economics.
I have a piece in the Journal of Economic Perspectives called "Ethics
and the Invisible Hand" (Vol.7, #2, Spring 1993, pp. 197-205) that
you might find helpful. Also a piece in the Scottish Journal of Political
Economy called "The Role of Community Values in Modern Liberal Economic
Thought" (Vol. 39, #1, Feb. 1992) may be useful. Jerry Evensky Home: http://www.stanford.edu/~marcelo This website is under construction. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please contact Marcelo Clerici-Arias. All pages copyright © 2000-2001 by Marcelo Clerici-Arias Last changed: June 8, 2001 |
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