How could well-being data, for example those based on survey measures, be used for guiding policy? Exploring one direction, we analyze a mechanism that takes as inputs estimates of policy effects on different groups’ utility proxies (constructed from the well-being data), and aggregates them into policy-change recommendations. We develop three justifications for the mechanism based on: an analo...

This paper presents a theory of social policy preferences that emphasizes the role of skills. The key to our argument is that individuals who have made risky investments in skills will demand insurance against the possible future loss of income from those investments. Most income is derived from past investments in skills, and because the transferability of skills is inversely related to their ...

This paper provides recursive methods for analyzing the credible equilibria of an incomplete information monetary policy game. The policy game is one in which a discretionary government has a short run temptation to engage in a surprise monetary expansion. It also has the opportunity to mimic a government that is committed to the optimal ex ante monetary policy actions. We derive an algorithm f...

The use of subgroups based on biological-clinical and socio-demographic variables to deal with population heterogeneity is well-established in public policy. The use of subgroups based on preferences is rare, except when religion based, and controversial. If it were decided to treat subgroup preferences as valid determinants of public policy, a transparent analytical procedure is needed. In thi...

This paper discusses how a benevolent policy maker should act based on some, possibly nonwelfaristic, ethical principle in cases where people's preferences are not perfectly informed, consistent and fully developed with regard to all goods, including all kinds of environmental goods, as is normally assumed in mainstream economic theory. When stated or revealed preferences do not reflect the max...

Who is deemed vulnerable and in need of protection has a bearing on important policy decisions, such as refugee acceptance or provision aid. In war, dominant narratives construe women paradigmatic victims, even while civilian men are disproportionately targeted the most lethal forms violence. How gender-essentialist notions reflected public opinion? Do regular citizens have inaccurate perceptio...

Currently, countries across the world are applying policies designed to combat COVID-19 pandemic, such as lockdowns, international travel restrictions, subsectoral closures, and adjustments in public transportation. Although these restrictions can be effective controlling epidemiological dynamics, they also need assessed terms of their acceptability by populations. The preferences populations s...