Social welfare orderings for different scales of individual utility measurement in distinct population subgroups are studied. In Khmelnitskaya and Weymark (2000), employing the continuous version of Arrow’s impossibility theorem, it was shown that for combinations of independent subgroups scales every corresponding social welfare ordering depends on the utilities of only one of the subgroups an...

Social optimization problems maximize the weighted sum of individual utilities over feasible allocations that satisfy certain constraints. In this paper, we propose a method that determines endogenous individual weights for such problems. We …rst provide three axioms which uniquely determine, for any welfare function, the contribution of a bundle of goods to that welfare function. We then de…ne...

We construct an algebraic model of the social choice theory. First we give an arithmetic proof of Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem. Next we apply our algebraic method to single-peaked preference domain to establish two theorems. (i) A value of Arrovian social welfare function on single peaked preference domain is single-plateaued with at most two maximal elements. (ii) An ordering by majority voti...

[Purpose] This study investigates the effects of welfare IT convergence contents on physical function, depression, and social participation among the elderly. It also aims to provide material for future activity mediation for the elderly. [Subjects] Two hundred subjects >65 years were selected from six elderly welfare facilities and related institutions in the Busan and Gyeongbuk areas and were...

The generalized Lorenz order and the absolute Lorenz order are used in economics to compare income distributions in terms of social welfare. In Section 2, we show that these orders are equivalent to two stochastic orders, the concave order and the dilation order, which are used to compare the dispersion of probability distributions. In Section 3, a sufficient condition for the absolute Lorenz o...

Harsanyi’s utilitarian theorem states that the social welfare function is the weighted sum of individuals’ utility functions if: (i) society maximizes expected social welfare; (ii) individuals maximize expected utility; (iii) society is indifferent between two probability distributions over social states whenever all individuals are. After giving a simpler proof, an alternative axiomatic founda...

In this paper, we study consumption decisions under risk assuming a prioritarian social welfare function, namely a concave transformation of individual utility functions. Under standard assumptions, there is always more current consumption under ex ante prioritarianism than under utilitarianism. Thus, a concern for equity (in the ex ante prioritarian sense) means less concern for the risky futu...

This article reviewed achievements and challenges of the National Health Insurance of the Republic of Korea and shared thoughts on its future directions. Starting with large workplaces of 500 or more employees in 1977, Korea's National Health Insurance successfully achieved universal coverage within just 12 yr in 1989. This amazing pace of growth was possible due to a positive combination of st...