SOCIAL CHOICE AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE

OBJECTIVE

This course explores modern concepts of economic justice. No single concept of economic justice will receive exclusive attention. Instead, the course focuses on developing some analytical tools necessary for understanding contemporary debates concerning economic justice. In particular, we will attempt to identify (i) trade-offs in social choice as revealed by economic theory, (ii) the nature of property and property laws, and (iii) the assumptions concerning human nature and the good society which motivate ethical thinkers and allow them to draw normative conclusions. Class interest will determine the depth in which we explore each topic, so be sure to express your preferences!

STRUCTURE

Although I will lecture for part of each class, I would like the class to be very interactive. To make this work, every student must attend class regularly and keep up with the reading.

Each student will give a (roughly ten minute) oral presentation. The topic should reflect the student's interest in economic policy and economic justice, and the presentation should be informed by the course. Class questions and discussion will follow the presentation.

Each student will complete four short (5-8 pages) response papers on topics covered in class. (Topic suggestions are provided below.) The papers should indicate clearly that the student has done the relevant class reading and has thought carefully about it. The papers should consider in detail the major issues raised in the readings and in classroom discussion. More detailed suggestions are offered in the attachment entitled "Paper Evaluation Criteria."

Each student will prepare a ten to fifteen page book review of a book approved by me. The book review should critique the author's arguments in light of what you have learned in this course; you should not simply summarize what you have read.

Each graduate student will additionally prepare a twenty page term paper. This paper is an opportunity to organize your thoughts on economic justice. The paper should show, by extensive citation and reference, the influence of this class on your understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your conceptions of economic justice. The paper may be theoretical, comparing and contrasting the views discussed in class. Or it may be concrete, choosing a particular real world problem in social choice and illustrating how the issues raised in class bear upon this problem. An outline of your paper is due the 10th week of class, and the term paper is due on the last regularly scheduled class meeting (the week before finals). Undergraduate students desiring honors credit for the course will also complete this assignment.

Be sure to spell check your papers and proof read them for grammatical correctness.

GRADING

The core grade is determined as follows: class participation 25%, the book review 25%, the oral presentation and the response papers 10% each. The grade will be supplemented as follows. The term paper counts 25% for graduate students. An optional final exam worth 25% of your grade may be taken on the regularly scheduled final exam date.

Response papers are due October 2 and 23, November 13, and December 4. The book review is due Monday December 11. Early papers are acceptable. Papers will be downgraded 0.15 grade-point per day overdue. (This is on a 4 point scale. For example, an A paper turned in 2 days late will receive an A-.) If you turn a late paper in to the department staff rather than directly to me, please be sure to have them sign and date your paper. Papers may be mailed if necessary, and the postmark will be treated as the date received.

Required Viewing (Background for Discussions)

7 Up (in The Up Series)

Director: Michael Apted ASIN: B0002S64SC (DVD)

American Experience: Fidel Castro

by Stephen Ives, Rocky Collins, Matthew Collins (III), and Ben Loeterman ASIN: B0006IUE0W (DVD)

PRIMARY TEXTS

Justice and Economic Distribution 2nd Edition,

by Arthur, John and William Shaw (eds) (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1990)

The American Search for Economic Justice

by McClelland, Peter D., (NY: Basil Blackwell, 1990).

A Theory of Justice

by Rawls, John, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971).

OTHER TEXTS:

These are on reserve. The reading is recommended but not required, unless o/w specified in class.

William M. Landes, Richard A. Posner The Economic Structure of Intellectual Property Law Belknap Press (November 28, 2003) ISBN: 0674012046

Intellectual Property Stories 2005 Ginsburg, Jane C. Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss Foundation Press (November 30, 2005) ISBN: 158778727X

Cheung, Steven N.S. The Myth of Social Cost

The Constitution of Liberty by F. A. Hayek

Friedman, Milton, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962)

Weber, Steven The Spread of Open Source

Intellectual Property Rights in Frontier Industries : Software and Biotechnology (Paperback) by Robert W. Hahn AEI Press (March 25, 2005) ISBN: 0844771910

Hayek, F., Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, edited by Bruce Caldwell (Elgar, 1995).

Kuenne, Robert E. (ed), Microeconomics: Theoretical and Applied (Brookfield, VT: Edward Elgar, 1990) vol. I,II,III.

Phelps, E., Political Economy (New York: W.W. Norton, 1985).

Rawls, John, Political Liberalism (NY: Columbia University Press, 1993).

Roemer, J., Free to Lose (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988).

Rowley, Charles K. (ed), Social Choice Theory (Elgar: 1993) isbn 1-85278-159-9 (3 vols).

Trebilcock, Michael J., The Limits of Freedom of Contract (Cambridge: Harvard Univ Press, 1993) isbn: 0-674-53429-8

TOPICS:

Justice and Morality, Economic Justice, Property, Scarcity and Rights, Rational Choice, The Market Economy, Marginal Productivity Theory, Freedom and Equality, Evaluating the Market, The Market and Human Nature, Freedom and Justice, Merit and Contribution, Strategic Behavior, The Rise of Government, Redistribution, Public Choice, Institutional Design, Constitutional Constraint, Rawls and Nozick, Exploitation.

EXAMPLES OF ESSAY TOPICS (You can write on any aspect of the class material that interests you.)

• "Does individually rational behavior promote the public good?"

• "justice and marginal productivity"

• "is redistribution just?"

• "should we care about exploitation?"

These topics are merely suggestions. Any coherent response to the readings and classroom discussion is acceptable.

READINGS (+ = required)