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WELFARE ECONOMICS

CONCEPTS
Introduction
• We have been concerned about “what is” economics from the
very beginning of Microeconomics which is also known as
Positive economics.
• Positive economics is concerned with the description,
quantification, and explanation of economic developments,
expectations, and associated phenomena. It relies on objective
data analysis, relevant facts, and associated figures. It attempts
to establish any cause-and-effect relationships or behavioral
associations which can help ascertain and test the development
of economics theories.
• Positive economics describes and explains various economic
phenomena or the "what is" scenario.
• Normative economics focuses on the value of economic
fairness, or what the economy "should be" or "ought to be."
• While positive economics is based on fact and cannot be
approved or disapproved, normative economics is based on
value judgments.
• Most public policy is based on a combination of both positive
and normative economics.
• Normative economics focuses on the ideological, opinion-oriented, prescriptive,
value judgments, and "what should be" statements aimed toward economic
development, investment projects, and scenarios. Its goal is to summarize
people's desirability (or the lack thereof) to various economic developments,
situations, and programs by asking or quoting what should happen or
what ought to be.

• Normative economics is subjective and value-based, originating from personal


perspectives, feelings, or opinions involved in the decision-making process.
Normative economics statements are rigid and prescriptive in nature. They often
sound political or authoritarian, which is why this economic branch is also called
"what should be" or "what ought to be" economics.

• An example of a normative economic statement is: "The government should


provide basic healthcare to all citizens." As you can deduce from this statement,
it is value-based, rooted in personal perspective, and satisfies the requirement
of what "should" be.
• Both positive and normative economic statements are required in order to
create the policies of a country, region, industrial sector, institution, or business.
WHAT IS WELFARE ECONOMICS?
• “Any change that makes at least one person better off
without making any other worse off is an improvement in
social welfare.”- Vilfredo Pareto
• “Welfare economics has concerned itself mostly with policy
issues which arise out of the allocation of resources, with
distribution of inputs among the various commodities and
their distribution among various consumers.” Baumol
Edgeworth box diagram
• 2 people
• 2 goods
• Determination of efficient good allocation

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