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2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

7. Economy and Desert

Author : Joseph de la Torre Dwyer

Published in: Chance, Merit, and Economic Inequality

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Seeking to translate the preceding chapters into policy, this chapter lays a foundation for a “correspondence” between desert-basis and reward by examining what philosophers and economists have recommended as the specific distributive justice grounds for receiving or holding some as yet undefined economic good. Among three contenders, this chapter argues that institutions ought to seek to reward “value contributed” and operationalizes this concept with a specific empirical measure.

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previous chapter Liberty and Just Deserts: Slaves, Dynasties, and Moral Agents

next chapter Measure for Merit

Knight (2011).

We want a theory that is “feasible and fair,” in which we have “sufficient information” to make a “reasonable approximation” of the “relative effort levels of individuals across an entire economy.” Wolff (2003), 223–224.

While the current criminal justice system imposes negative consequences in order to (1) protect society from this individual, (2) prevent this individual and others from committing future crimes, and (3) punish this individual for their wrongdoing, a Just Deserts system would only affect the punish component, although likely in very interesting ways. Cf. Matravers (2011); Feinberg (1970f), 215.

Although, for an account of retributive justice as distributive, cf. Sher (1987), 76–82.

Although criminal justice and health may more naturally elicit an impetus toward observed outcome egalitarianism (less crime and illness) over an ex post distribution of desert. Cf. Segall (2009).

Lamont (1994), 45–46.

“What people deserve on the basis of virtue is not money but happiness.” Hurka (2003), 59.

Lamont and Favor (2014); Lamont (1994).

Miller (1976), Miller (1989); Riley (1989).

Sadurski (1985); Milne (1986).

Dick (1975); Lamont (1997); For a fascinating and persuasive alternative account, notably attractive for its focus on autonomy, cf. Sher (1987), chap. 3.

Cf. Pistolesi (2007); Lefranc et al. (2009); Aaberge et al. (2011); Almås et al. (2011).

Arneson (2007), 272ff.

Lamont and Favor (2014).

Miller (1999c), 134; Also, cf. Hurka (2003), 58.

Sher (1987), 53–68, 99–103.

While this is too quick, I ignore this for reasons of time and space. Further, Olsaretti has examined costs incurred at length. Olsaretti (2004), 49–55.

Thus “wages, capital income, and all public cash transfers” is far too broad for a principle of desert. Aaberge et al. (2011); This is even more true for “labor, business, [and] capital [income, plus] realized capital gains, as well as.. unemployment insurance, sickness pay, parental leave payment, and pensions.” This is because it is not the use of these compensation benefits but the value of these benefits to those who do and do not use these benefits that counts. For an overexpansive measurement of total market income in Sweden, cf. Björklund et al. (2011).

While earnings accounted for 98.6% of compensation in 1929, today they represent only 68.4% of compensation. As might be expected, employees with higher earnings have not only greater absolute values of benefits but greater percentage values of benefits within total compensation. Thus, the ideal Just Deserts policy would use total employee compensation as the outcome of interest. Unfortunately, the best dataset for the Just Deserts proposal does not include dollar values of benefits, so we make do with a second-best model in Chap. 12 that measures labor income. Kaufman and Hotchkiss (2000), 422; BLS—Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014); Total employee compensation should not be confused with “differential compensation.” Cf. Dick (1975).

Under ideal circumstances, I think we would use the compensation offered within an ideal market rather than actual compensation within an actual market. To see the practical difficulties to which this is the ideal solution, cf. Sidgwick (1999), 54–55.

For example, Mazumder’s recent work uses “family income.” Mazumder (2001a).

Lefranc et al. (2009); Marrero and Rodríguez (2013).

This is to say, no group, whether that be a “family,” “sex,” “ethnos,” and so on, may “deserve” a reward, although they may be entitled to such through other ethical principles. While Rawls’ minimax solution applies to groups, he says nothing about intragroup distributions, which I take to be a shortcoming. Just as an adequate poverty measure must be sensitive to not only the average “poverty gap” but also the distribution of resources among the impoverished, so must we seek a just distribution of resources among the members of each statistically distinct group. Cf. Sen (1976).

Note that the measure of compensation required for a Just Deserts proposal is not technically the same as compensation as portrayed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These statistics are interested in the total compensation per hour of work while we are interested in the total compensation per year of time. For more details on total employee compensation survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cf. BLS—Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015).

26 U.S. Code § 63 - Taxable Income Defined. 2000.

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Title: Economy and Desert
Author: Joseph de la Torre Dwyer
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: Chance, Merit, and Economic Inequality
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21125-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-21126-4

Copyright Year: 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21126-4_7