Back to the Bog? Subrick, self-interest, and socialist calculation

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
University of Canterbury. Economics.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
Date
2006
Authors
Crampton, E.
Farrant, A.
Abstract

Subrick takes issue with some points made in Crampton and Farrant, "Relaxing Benevolence". We agree with Subrick that robust political economy remains in its early stages. We address Subrick's critique that the empirical record cannot speak to the success or failure of the calculation argument. We also argue that our results are not contingent on unwarranted assertions of either a median-utility welfare metric or of a strongly diminishing marginal utility of income. The median is the appropriate welfare measure where an outlier -- namely, the perfectly-extracting planner -- causes the mean to be an unrepresentative population statistic. Even under a mean utility framework, only the mildest of diminishing marginal utility of income is necessary to cause us to question the desirability of the perfectly-extracting planner.

Description
In our rejoinder to Subrick's comment, we address Subrick's main concerns with our paper and suggest directions for further research.
Citation
Crampton, E., Farrant, A. (2006) Back to the Bog? Subrick, self-interest, and socialist calculation. Review of Austrian Economics, 19(1), pp. 101-104.
Keywords
Austrian economics, Robust political economy, socialist calculation debate
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
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