Mathematical experiment as a tool for modeling the freight transportation process

The process of multimodal freight transportation on a railway loop is investigated, for which a multicriteria optimization model with time indicators is created, which is a nonlinear integer programming problem. The developed approach is based on egalitarian and utilitarian principles in the welfare theory and allows (along with Pareto optimal transportation plans) to find other plans that can be considered rational from the point of view of maintaining the balance of interests of the transportation process participants. A mathematical experiment is an effective heuristic tool in research. The algorithm for solving the optimization problem is implemented in the environment of a computer algebra system and brought to numerical results.

Social education and social work in Japan: from an education welfare theory perspective

This article aims to consider the position of social pedagogy in Japan in the relationship between social education and social work, by focusing on the historical development of the two. In Japan, the term social pedagogy is not as well known as it is in European countries. The term of social education is used to cover the combination of ‘social’ and ‘education/pedagogy’. Historically, social pedagogy was influenced by Japanese social education at the beginning of the 1900s, and more recently, interest in social pedagogy is increasing, with attention from some Japanese researchers in the fields of both social education and social work/social welfare. In Japan, after the Second World War, social education and social work came to be entirely separate areas due to the establishment of social education and social welfare systems. In this article the different institutional positions of modern-day social education and social work/social welfare are first clarified. Their historical development is then explored by delving into the literature that discusses how the two first diverged. Finally, how social pedagogy is positioned in the relationship between social education and social work/social welfare is considered. This will deepen the understanding of the issue from the viewpoint of education welfare theory as the research framework, a theory of Toshio Ogawa, one of the leading figures in Japanese social education research.

How to Handle Trade-Offs in Pandemics

Pandemics and other similar crises force us to make difficult moral trade-offs. It is tempting to think that this challenge should be met by invoking fundamental moral principles. This is a mistake. Instead, we need to work hard at designing institutions that enable the officeholders to make reasonable decisions under both fundamental ethical disagreement and empirical/evaluative uncertainty. It is argued that this is best done by supplementing the ethical-cum-legal platforms already in use with an ethical framework inspired by social welfare theory.

Can Rationing Increase Welfare? Theory and an Application to India’s Ration Shop System

In many developing countries, households can purchase limited quantities of goods at a fixed subsidized price through ration shops. This paper asks whether the characteristics of developing countries explain why governments use such systems. I find an equity-efficiency trade-off: an efficiency-maximizing government will never use ration shops, but a welfare-maximizing one might to redistribute and provide insurance. Welfare gains of ration shops will be highest for necessity goods and goods with high price risk. I calibrate the model for India and find that ration shops are welfare improving for three of the four goods sold through the system today. (JEL D12, H23, H25, O12)