Social Welfare Functions and Development Measurement and Policy Appl
Nanak Kakwani and Hyu Hwa Son make use of social welfare functions to derive indicators of development relevant to specific social objectives, such as poverty- and inequality-reduction. Arguing that the measurement of development cannot be value-free, the
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Nanak Kakwani and Hyun Hwa Son
Social Welfare Functions and Development
Nanak Kakwani • Hyun Hwa Son
Social Welfare Functions and Development Measurement and Policy Applications
Nanak Kakwani Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hyun Hwa Son Asian Development Bank Manila, Philippines
ISBN 978-1-137-58324-6 ISBN 978-1-137-58325-3 DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58325-3
(eBook)
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Foreword
In a recent article entitled “Making sense of economists’ positive‒normative distinction” Colander and Su (2015) argue that John Stuart Mill held the view that economists should not give advice on policy when that advice is only based on the theorems drawn from economics. In Mill’s words (1844, 1967, p. 312), which are cited by Colander and Su, “[science] deals in facts, [art] in precepts. Science is a collection of truths; art a body of rules, or directions for conduct. The language of science is, This is, or, This is not; This does, or does not, happen. The language of art is, Do this; Avoid that. Science takes cognizance of a phenomenon, and endeavours to discover its law; art proposes to itself an end, and looks out for means to effect it.” This contrast between science and art clearly reminds us of the distinction between positive and normative economics. Colander and Su (2015) emphasize also the fact that John Neville Keynes (1890, 1917, pp. 35 and 36), the father of John Maynard Keynes, took a position similar to that of Mill. For J. N. Keynes economic
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