COWLES FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS
AT YALE UNIVERSITY

Box 208281
New Haven, CT 06520-8281

COWLES FOUNDATION DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 1477B

Impartiality and Priority.
Part 2: A Characterization with Solidarity

Juan D. Moreno-Ternero and John E. Roemer
Yale University

February 9, 2005

The ethic of ‘priority’ is a compromise between the extremely compensatory ethic of ‘welfare equality’ and the needs-blind ethic of ‘income equality’. We propose an axiom of priority, and characterize resource allocation rules that are impartial, prioritarian, and solidaristic. They comprise a class of rules which equalize across individuals some index of resources and welfare. Consequently, we provide an ethical rationalization for the many applications in which such indices have been used (e.g., the ‘human development index,’ ‘index of primary goods,’ etc.).

JEL Classification: D63, D71

Keywords: Impartiality, Solidarity, Priority, Allocation rules, Characterization result