Pareto Efficiency with Costly Transfers.
Abstract
The concept of Pareto efficiency, as ordinarily applied, implies that costless redistributive transfers are possible. This paper generalizes the concept to a simple case where transfers of a given good involve losses mesasurable in that good. The Pareto efficiency of a given allocation then depends on the initial distribution endowments. For a given allocation, then, we can ask: (1) whether there exists any endowment allocation for which the given allocation is Pareto efficient; and (2) if there is, what is the class of endowment allocations for which it is efficient. These questions are answered in the paper.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA069212
Entities
People
- Kenneth J. Arrow
Organizations
- Harvard University