Welfare Economics: Towards a More Complete Analysis

Yew-Kwang Ng looks to make welfare economics more complete by discussing the recent inframarginal analysis of division of labour and by pushing welfare economics from the level of preference to that of happiness, making a reformulation of the foundation of public policy necessary. A theory of the third best is provided, with extension to the equality/efficiency issue. The remarkable conclusion of treating a dollar as a dollar provides a powerful simplification of public policy formulation in general and in cost-benefit analysis in particular.

YEW-KWANG NG holds a Personal Chair in Economics at Monash University, Australia, and has been a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia since 1980. He has published in welfare economics, meso-economics, welfare biology, and collaborates with Professor Xiaokai Yang on an infra-marginal analysis of division of labour.