{"id":91,"date":"2023-11-03T15:13:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T15:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/?page_id=91"},"modified":"2025-04-08T20:25:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T20:25:27","slug":"welfare-economics-and-moral-philosophy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/welfare-economics-and-moral-philosophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Welfare Economics and Moral Philosophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Books<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Theory of Taxation and Public Economics<\/em>&nbsp;(&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/\">Princeton University Press<\/a>, 2008)&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Theory-Taxation-Public-Economics\/dp\/0691130779\/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1215104999&amp;sr=8-1\">Amazon (purchase)<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Fairness Versus Welfare<\/em>. (with Steven Shavell) (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hup.harvard.edu\/books\/9780674023642\">Harvard University Press,<\/a> 2002; Chinese translation, Law Press China, 2007).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Fairness-versus-Welfare-Louis-Kaplow\/dp\/0674006224\/ref=ed_oe_h\/104-5593144-4159124?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1177077416&amp;sr=1-1\">Amazon (purchase)<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Journal Articles, Book Chapters, and Encyclopedia Entries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Optimal Income Taxation, <em>Journal of Economic Literature<\/em>, vol. 62, pp. 637-738 (2024).&nbsp;[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w30199.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">NBER<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_1083.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who Will Vote Quadratically? Voter Turnout and Votes Cast under Quadratic Voting (with Scott Kominers),&nbsp;<em>Public Choice<\/em>&nbsp;(forthcoming 2017)&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_894.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Information and the Aim of Adjudication: Truth or Consequences?,&nbsp;<em>Stanford Law Review<\/em>, vol. 67, pp. 1303-1371 (2015).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_813.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the Choice of Welfare Standards in Competition Law, in&nbsp;<em>Goals of Competition Law<\/em>&nbsp;(Zimmer, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2012).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_693.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Discount Rates, Social Judgments, Individuals&#8217; Risk Preferences, and Uncertainty (with David Weisbach),&nbsp;<em>Journal of Risk and Uncertainty<\/em>, vol. 42, 125-142 (2011).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Concavity of Utility, Concavity of Welfare, and Redistribution of Income,&nbsp;<em>International Tax and Public Finance<\/em>, vol. 17, 25-42 (2010).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w10005\">NBER<\/a>]&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/437.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Social Evaluation of Intergenerational Policies and Its Application to Integrated Assessment Models of Climate Change (with Elisabeth Moyers &amp; David Weisbach),&nbsp;<em>B.E. Journal of Economics Analysis &amp; Policy<\/em>, vol. 10, issue 2, art. 7, 1-32 (2010); also in&nbsp;<em>Distributional Aspects of Energy and Climate Change<\/em>&nbsp;(Cohen, Fullerton &amp; Topel, eds., Edward Elgar, 2013), pp. 41-74.&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bepress.com\/bejeap\/vol10\/iss2\/art7\/\">BE Press&nbsp;<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Optimal Policy with Heterogeneous Preferences. 8&nbsp;<em>B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Advances<\/em>, Issue 1, Article 40, 1-28. (2008)&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w14170\">NBER<\/a>]&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_617.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pareto Principle and Competing Principles, in&nbsp;<em>The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics<\/em>, 2nd Edition (Durlauf &amp; Blume, eds., Macmillan, 2008).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_519.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moral Rules, the Moral Sentiments, and Behavior: Toward a Theory of an Optimal Moral System (with Steven Shavell)&nbsp;<em>Journal of Political Economy<\/em>, vol. 115, 494-514 (2007).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w8688\">NBER<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Primary Goods, Capabilities, or &#8230;Well-Being?&nbsp;<em>Philosophical Review<\/em>, vol. 116, 603-632 (2007).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/Kaplow_602.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Discounting Dollars, Discounting Lives: Intergenerational Distributive Justice and Efficiency,&nbsp;<em>University of Chicago Law Review<\/em>, vol. 74, 79-118 (2007).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/lawreview.uchicago.edu\/issues\/archive\/v74\/74_1\/Kaplow.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w12239\">NBER WP<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_550.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Choosing Expensive Tastes,&nbsp;<em>Canadian Journal of Philosophy<\/em>, vol. 36, 415-425 (2006).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/Kaplow_526.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Value of a Statistical Life and the Coefficient of Relative Risk Aversion,\u00a0<em>Journal of Risk and Uncertainty<\/em>, vol. 31, 23-34 (2005).\u00a0[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w9852\">NBER WP<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/426.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why Measure Inequality?,&nbsp;<em>Journal of Economic Inequality<\/em>, vol. 3, 65-79 (2005).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w9342\">NBER WP<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/386.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notes on Welfarist versus Deontological Principles (reply) (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Economics and Philosophy<\/em>, vol. 20, 209-215 (2004).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/112_J_Political_Econ_249.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/460.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any Non-welfarist Method of Policy Assessment Violates the Pareto Principle: Reply (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Journal of Political Economy<\/em>, vol. 112, 249-251 (2004).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/112_J_Political_Econ_249.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/455.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fairness versus Welfare: Notes on the Pareto Principle, Preferences, and Distributive Justice (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Journal of Legal Studies<\/em>, vol. 32, 331-362 (2003).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/32_J_Legal_Stud_331.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>]&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w9622\">NBER WP<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/411.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horizontal Equity: New Measures, Unclear Principles (Commentary), in&nbsp;<em>Inequality and Tax Policy<\/em>. (Hassett &amp; Hubbard, eds., American Enterprise Institute, 2001), pp. 75-97.&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w7649\">NBER<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/279.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any Non-Welfarist Method of Policy Assessment Violates the Pareto Principle, (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Journal of Political Economy,&nbsp;<\/em>vol. 109, 281-86 (2001).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/109_J_Political_Econ_281.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>]&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w7051\">NBER WP &#8211; Any Non-Individualistic Social Welfare Function Violates the Pareto Principle&nbsp;<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/253.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP &#8211; Any Non-Individualistic Social Welfare Function Violates the Pareto Principle<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fairness versus Welfare (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Harvard Law Review<\/em>, vol. 114, 961-1388 (2001).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/277_kaplow_shavell.php\">Olin Center WP &#8211; Principles of Fairness versus Human Welfare: On the Evaluation of Legal Policy<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notions of Fairness Versus the Pareto Principle: On the Role of Logical Consistency (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>Yale Law Journal<\/em>, vol. 110, 237-49 (2000).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/110_yale_law_I_237.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/302.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Conflict between Notions of Fairness and the Pareto Principle (with Steven Shavell),&nbsp;<em>American Law and Economic Review<\/em>, vol. 1, 63-79 (1999).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/faculty\/shavell\/pdf\/1_Amer_Law_Econ_Rev_63.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">WWW<\/a>] [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.law.harvard.edu\/programs\/olin_center\/papers\/pdf\/252.pdf\" class=\"mtli_attachment mtli_pdf\">Olin Center WP<\/a>]<br><br>Optimal Distribution and the Family,&nbsp;<em>Scandinavian Journal of Economics<\/em>, vol. 98, 75-92 (1996).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w4189\">NBER WP &#8211; Optimal Distribution and Taxation of the Family&nbsp;<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Fundamental Objection to Tax Equity Norms: A Call for Utilitarianism,&nbsp;<em>National Tax Journal<\/em>, vol. 48, 497-514 (1995).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w4961\">NBER WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Note on Horizontal Equity,&nbsp;<em>Florida Tax Review<\/em>, vol. 1, 191-196 (1992).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horizontal Equity: Measures in Search of a Principle,&nbsp;<em>National Tax Journal<\/em>, vol. 42, 139-154 (1989).&nbsp;[<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w1679\">NBER WP<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Optimal Transition Policy: Replacing Horizontal Equity with an Ex Ante Incentives Perspective, Dissertation accepted by Harvard University Department of Economics (1987).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Books The Theory of Taxation and Public Economics&nbsp;(&nbsp;Princeton University Press, 2008)&nbsp;[Amazon (purchase)] Fairness Versus Welfare. (with Steven Shavell) (Harvard University Press, 2002; Chinese translation, Law Press China, 2007).&nbsp;[Amazon (purchase)] Journal Articles, Book Chapters, and Encyclopedia Entries Optimal Income Taxation, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 62, pp. 637-738 (2024).&nbsp;[NBER] [Olin Center WP] Who Will Vote Quadratically? &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/welfare-economics-and-moral-philosophy\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Welfare Economics and Moral Philosophy<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-91","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/91\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faculty.law.harvard.edu\/louis-kaplow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}