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Utilitarianism and unequal longevities : A remedy?

Author

Listed:
  • LEROUX, Marie - Louise

    (CORE, Université catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

  • PONTHIERE, Grégory

    (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, and Paris School of Economics, F-75014 Paris, France)

Abstract
This paper re-examines a counterintuitive corollary of utilitarianism under unequal longevities: the tendency to redistribute resources from short-lived towards long-lived agents, against any intuition of compensation. It is shown that this corollary prevails not only under time-additive lifetime welfare, but, also, in general, under non-additive lifetime welfare, so that this counterintuitive redistributive corollary is a robust argument against utilitarianism. This paper studies a remedy to that counterintuitive corollary. This consists in imputing, when solving the social planner's problem, the consumption equivalent of a long life to the consumption of long- lived agents. We identify the conditions under which such a modified utilitarian optimum involves a compensation of short-lived agents with respect to the laissez-faire. That remedy is also applied to an economy with risky longevity, where short-lived agents are penalized not only by the limited opportunities to spread resources over time (due to a shorter life), but, also, by lost savings (due to unanticipated death).

Suggested Citation

  • LEROUX, Marie - Louise & PONTHIERE, Grégory, 2010. "Utilitarianism and unequal longevities : A remedy?," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2010043, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvco:2010043
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2012. "The Public Economics of Increasing Longevity," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 200(1), pages 41-74, March.
    2. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Lozachmeur, Jean-Marie, 2023. "Gender wage and longevity gaps and the design of retirement systems," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 263-287.
    3. Justina Klimaviciute, 2020. "Long-term care and myopic couples," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(1), pages 77-102, February.
    4. Pierre PESTIEAU & Gregory PONTHIERE, 2016. "Longevity Variations and the Welfare State," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(2), pages 207-239, June.
    5. Marc Fleurbaey & Marie-Louise Leroux & Grégory Ponthière, 2010. "Compensating the dead? Yes we can!," PSE Working Papers halshs-00564934, HAL.
    6. Jafino, Bramka Arga, 2021. "An equity-based transport network criticality analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 204-221.
    7. Fleurbaey, Marc & Leroux, Marie-Louise & Ponthiere, Gregory, 2014. "Compensating the dead," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 28-41.
    8. Pashchenko, Svetlana & Porapakkarm, Ponpoje & Jang, Youngsoo, 2023. "Mortality Regressivity and Pension Design," MPRA Paper 117936, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Torben M. Andersen & Marias H. Gestsson, 2022. "Is full annuitization socially optimal?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 199-217, March.
    10. No authors listed, 2016. "Überlegungen zur fairen und nachhaltigen Ausgestaltung eines Pensionskontensystems," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 159, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    11. Torben M. Andersen & Cecilie Marie Løchte Jørgensen, 2024. "The Distributional Implications of Pension Benefit Indexation," CESifo Working Paper Series 10943, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    utilitarianism; differential longevity; compensation; redistribution; consumption equivalent;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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