Right, Wrong, and Economics
Stephen J. Schmidt
Professor of Economics, Union College

This page contains support material for the talk on "Right, Wrong, and Economics" given by Prof. Stephen Schmidt in his Chet Chat of September 22, 2016.

Q. What can I read to learn more about normative economics? What do you have your students read?

A. Unfortunately there isn't a good comprehensive book on the subject. The majority of the material that the students read in class comes from two books.

The first book is Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy, and Public Policy by Daniel Hausman and Michael McPherson. In class I've used the second edition; a third edition is about to come out which adds Debra Satz as a co-author. This book is a survey of the intersection of moral philosophy and economics; most of what it contains is normative economics but some of it is not. But it's probably the best thing to read for a survey of the field.

The second book is Justice: A Reader by Michael Sandel. This book is an anthology of important readings in moral philosophy; it doesn't have any economics although a few of its readings are from notable economists, namely Milton Friedman and Frederick Hayek. I also assign readings which I distribute electronically to the students (and unfortunately cannot make publicly available due to copyright restrictions) from other philosophers and economists that complement what's in Sandel's reader; Amartya Sen, Robert Dworkin, Peter Singer, Alan Wertheimer, G.A. Cohen, and others.

Beyond that, one should proceed directly to the relevant philosophical works, most of which are fairly accessible to someone who is willing to tackle some challenging readings (as all Union student are, of course!) One or two books for each of the approaches I mention in the talk:
  • Welfare economics - there is not a good book on this subject. Chapters 4, 5, and 9 of Hausman and McPherson provide a pretty good summary of the approach. Chapter 8 offers a relevant critique. The Nature and Significance of Economic Science by Lionel Robbins is the starkest claim of economics to scientific status.
  • Utilitarianism: The classic source texts are Utilitarianism and On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. More recent works include Moral Thinking by R.M. Hare and Facts, Values, and Morality by Richard Brandt, though the latter deals with some other issues as well.
  • Libertarianism: The strongest claims about individuals rights are made in Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick. A somewhat more nuanced, and to my eye more plausible, case is made in Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community by Loren Lomasky. An Essay on Rights by Hillel Steiner is an excellent read but the argument is not fully convincing.
  • Egalitarianism: the article "What is Equality? Part 2: Equality of Resources" by Ronald Dworkin, in Philosophy & Public Affairs Vol. 10, No. 4 (Autumn, 1981) is a good starting point and almost as long as a full book. G.A. Cohen's Rescuing Justice and Equality is another good text that offers some more historical perspective, especially on the difference between egalitarianism and Rawls.
  • Rawlsian justice: of course one starts with Theory of Justice by John Rawls but that book is both long and complex. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement is shorter and more accessible, and contains some modifications that respond to the literature critiquing Rawls.
  • Capabilities: Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach by Martha Nussbaum (who has done much work with Sen) is good and accessible; Sen's own writings tend to be more complex, including "Capability and Well-Being" in The Quality of Life by Sen and Nussbaum.
  • Human rights: The Community of Rights by Alan Gewirth is a good starting point, as is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948.
  • Islamic and Christian economics: Neither has a overall defining text, except for the Qur'an and the Bible respectively. For Islamic economics, First Principles of Islamic Economics by Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi is good; for Christian, Economics in Christian Perspective by Victor Claar and Robin Klay is a good introduction. Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) is a particularly authoritative Catholic statement on religious values and economics.
  • Humanist economics: One may profitably start with Economics for the Common Good by Mark A. Lutz.
  • Evironmental ethics: There are many books based on a range of different approaches. Environmental Ethics by Clare Palmer does a good job summarizing both the different ways of thinking about the problem and practical policy issues.

More material to come - if you have questions, email schmidsj@union.edu and ask!

a cute but uninformative image

Steve