Optimal Economic Growth and Distribution and the Social Utility Function

1968 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 540
Author(s):  
A. Asimakopulos
foresight ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeniya Lukinova ◽  
Mikhail Myagkov ◽  
Pavel Shishkin

Purpose – This paper aims to study the value of sociality. Recent experimental evidence has brought to light that the assumptions of the Prospect Theory by Kahneman and Tversky do not hold in the proposed substantive domain of “sociality”. In particular, the desire to be a part of the social environment, i.e. the environment where individuals make decisions among their peers, is not contingent on the framing. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that humans are “social animals” for adaptive reasons. However, entering a social relationship is inherently risky. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how much people value “sociality”, when the social outcomes are valued more than material outcomes and what kinds of adaptations people use. Design/methodology/approach – We develop a new theory and propose the general utility function that features “sociality” component. We test the theory in the laboratory experiments carried out in several countries. Findings – Our results suggest that when stakes are low the theory of “sociality” is successful in predicting individual decisions: on average, people do value “sociality” and it surpasses the monetary loss. Originality/value – The main contribution of this paper is the breakdown of the risk attitudes under low stakes and individual level of decision-making. Another advancement is the ability to formalize the social utility or the theory of “sociality” in an economic model; we use general utility function that we define both on the outcomes and on the process of the decision-making itself and test in laboratory studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-389
Author(s):  
Kwadwo Osei Bonsu

Abstract Subject and purpose of work: This paper uses Cobb-Douglas optimization to formulate an optimal transaction cost algorithm within the constraint of a generalized legal framework. Materials and methods: The author has adopted a Lagrangian approach to formulate the social utility function, then, from a set of legally allowed strategies established the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions for the legal game so as to find the optimal parameters within the social utility function. Finally, the optimal transaction cost algorithm was developed. Results: The Bordered Hessian Matrix from the partial differentials of the social utility function showed that there is a particular parameter within the social utility function which describes the optimal transaction cost. An adjustment of this parameter is essential in mechanism design for legal games. Conclusions: The author has shown how transaction costs influence the set of strategies played by players in a legal game, and has described the essence of a social utility function and how it can be optimized.


2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Perrin ◽  
Benoît Testé

Research into the norm of internality ( Beauvois & Dubois, 1988 ) has shown that the expression of internal causal explanations is socially valued in social judgment. However, the value attributed to different types of internal explanations (e.g., efforts vs. traits) is far from homogeneous. This study used the Weiner (1979 ) tridimensional model to clarify the factors explaining the social utility attached to internal versus external explanations. Three dimensions were manipulated: locus of causality, controllability, and stability. Participants (N = 180 students) read the explanations expressed by appliants during a job interview. They then described the applicants on the French version of the revised causal dimension scale and rated their future professional success. Results indicated that internal-controllable explanations were the most valued. In addition, perceived internal and external control of explanations were significant predictors of judgments.


2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Testé ◽  
Samantha Perrin

The present research examines the social value attributed to endorsing the belief in a just world for self (BJW-S) and for others (BJW-O) in a Western society. We conducted four studies in which we asked participants to assess a target who endorsed BJW-S vs. BJW-O either strongly or weakly. Results showed that endorsement of BJW-S was socially valued and had a greater effect on social utility judgments than it did on social desirability judgments. In contrast, the main effect of endorsement of BJW-O was to reduce the target’s social desirability. The results also showed that the effect of BJW-S on social utility is mediated by the target’s perceived individualism, whereas the effect of BJW-S and BJW-O on social desirability is mediated by the target’s perceived collectivism.


1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-317
Author(s):  
Ziaul Haque

Deveiopment planning in India, as in other developing countries, has generally been aimed at fostering an industrially-oriented policy as the engine of economic growth. This one-sided economic development, which results in capital formation, creation of urban elites, and underprivileged social classes of a modern society, has led to distortions in the social structure as a whole. On the contrary, as a result of this uneven economic development, which is narrowly measured in terms of economic growth and capital formation, the fruits of development have gone to the people according to their economic power and position in the social structure: those occupying higher positions benefiting much more than those occupying the lower ones. Thus, development planning has tended to increase inequalities and has sharpened divisive tendencies. Victor S. D'Souza, an eminent Indian sociologist, utilizing the Indian census data of 1961, 1971, and 1981, examines the problem of structural inequality with particular reference to the Indian Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - the two most underprivileged sections of the present Indian society which, according to the census of 1981, comprised 15.75 percent and 7.76 percent of India's population respectively. Theoretically, he takes the concept of development in a broad sense as related to the self-fulfIlment of the individual. The transformation of the unjust social structure, the levelling down of glaring economic and social inequalities, and the concern for the development of the underprivileged are for the author the basic elements of a planned development. This is the theoretical perspective of the first chapter, "Development Planning and Social Transformation".


2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4I-II) ◽  
pp. 997-1010
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal

Zakat is an annual religious levy that is collected from rich Muslims and its proceeds are disbursed among poor people of the society. It has many spiritual and social merits. For example, it purifies the hearts of zakat-givers as they give away a part of their wealth, one of the most precious things in their lives, seeking the pleasure of God without requiring any worldly gains whatsoever. It bridges the social gap between „haves‟ and „have-nots.‟ This study analyses, however, only economic consequences of Zakat for economic growth. They cannot be appreciated duly unless one understands the following concepts of modern economics; various theories of consumption, aggregate demand, stagnation thesis, consumption puzzle, marginal productivity of capital and Kuznets curve.


2020 ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
E. М. Hayrapetyan ◽  
N. N. Pokrovskaia ◽  
A. B. Chernykh

Fundamental sociological theories of migration study reveal the motives for an individual’s and households’ making decision to migrate, as well as the social factors and consequences of the unfolding of migration processes. Structural changes taking place in society caused by both the innovative nature of economic growth as a whole and the digitalization and expansion of information and telecommunications technologies imply the perception of the phenomenon of migration not only as a territorial movement of the population in space for a long period. Digitalization and development of remote forms of work, in particular, reduces the need for physical concentration of human resources, which allows people to choose the most comfortable places to live. Special attention is paid to the Diaspora, which is one of the important tools for solving communication difficulties. The sociological analysis of migration processes in Armenia illustrates the application of the main concepts, in particular, networked migration and reliance on the Diaspora.


Author(s):  
John Myles

Three challenges are highlighted in this chapter to the realization of the social investment strategy in our twenty-first-century world. The first such challenge—intertemporal politics—lies in the term ‘investment’, a willingness to forego some measure of current consumption in order to realize often uncertain gains in the future that would not occur otherwise, such as better schooling, employment, and wage outcomes for the next generation. Second, the conditions that enabled our post-war predecessors to invest heavily in future-oriented public goods—a sustained period of economic growth and historically exceptional tolerance for high levels of taxation—no longer obtain. Third, the millennial cohorts who will bear the costs of a new, post-industrial, investment strategy are more economically divided than earlier cohorts and face multiple demands raised by issues such as population aging and global warming, among others.


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