Mark D White
Biographic Data
| ID | 4499774 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mark D White |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mark D |
| FAMILY NAME | White |
| SIGNATURE | WHITE M D |
| AFFILIATIONS | College of Staten Island |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1431-0339 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 14 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 24 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
With All Due Respect
Mainstream economics is essentially utilitarian, both in the motivations it ascribes to individual decision-makers as well as in welfare economics and policy recommendations. But utilitarianism is widely criticized, especially regarding its failure to recognize the value of the individual or recognize meaningful rights. This chapter incorporates into economics the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, which emphasizes principle and rig…
The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics
The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics provides a timely and thorough survey of the various ways ethics can, does, and should inform economic theory and practice. The first part of the book, Foundations, explores how the most prominent schools of moral philosophy relate to economics; asks how morals relevant to economic behavior may have evolved; and explains how various approaches to economics incorporate ethics into their work. The second …
Preferences All the Way Down
Behavioral economics has enriched our understanding of the limitations and imperfections of human decision-making that were neglected by the overly simplistic neoclassical model of choice. However insightful its results and clever its modifications to the traditional model of choice, much of behavioral economics is built upon the core of that model, constrained preference-satisfaction, which cannot accommodate many other aspects of human choice s…
Nudging Merit Goods
Mainstream economics has traditionally maintained a respect for preferences and the choices that individuals make based on them. But recent advances in psychology and behavioral economics have led scholars and policy-maker to doubt if people make wise choices in their own interests. Based on this, libertarian paternalists endorse choice interventions—nudges—designed to steer people to decisions that will better promote their interests. However, t…
On the Relevance of Wrongfulness to the Concept of Externalities
This paper examines the concept of externalities using the concepts of rights and corrective justice as an alternative to utilitarianism and efficiency. Specifically, standard treatments of externalities in welfare economics do not consider the role of wrongfulness in the harms that economists and policymakers aim to optimize. I argue that if a harm is wrongful, involving the violation of a valid legal right, then it can be addressed through the …
Judgment
Judgment is an element of decision-making that is of critical importance to both ethics and economics but remains underappreciated in both. In this paper, I describe one conception of moral judgment, drawn from the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the legal philosophy of Ronald Dworkin, in which an agent weighs and balances the various moral duties and principles relevant to a choice situation in a way that maintains the integrity of her mor…
The Manipulation of Choice
The Problem with Economic Models of Choice How Behavioral Economists Make These Problems Worse, Not Better How Behavioral Economics Met Law-and-Economics and Begat Nudge Why Nudge Can't Work Why Nudge Is Unethical Why Nudge Will Backfire in the Long Run Why Nudge is Paternalistic (and Hardly Libertarian) - and Why Paternalism Is Wrong Why Choice is Valuable and Should Be Yours to Make
The Pursuit of a Measure of Happiness
Three new books contribute to the growing economic literature on happiness, each offering a unique perspective on the issue and speaking to different audiences. Briefly, Hirata's book is an academi
Can We—and Should We—Measure Well-Being
In this article, I argue that recent criticisms of happiness research in economics can be extended to any conception of well-being used for scientific or policymaking purposes. These criticisms are both practical and ethical: well-being is not only impossible to define, measure, or implement, but its use also offends human dignity through unjust distribution of harm and value substitution. On this basis, I recommend the abandonment of welfare eco…
Retributivism
This book offers analysis and explanations of new developments in retributivism, the philosophical account of punishment that holds that wrongdoers must be punished as a matter of right, duty, or justice, rather than to serve some general social purpose such as deterrence or individual purpose such as rehabilitation of the criminal or the vengeance of the victim. The contemporary debate over retributivist punishment has become particularly vibran…
Retributivism
The contributors offer analysis and explanations of new developments in retributivism, the philosophical account of punishment that holds that wrongdoers must be punished as a matter of right, duty, or justice, rather than deterrence, rehabilitation, or vengeance.
The Thief of Time
When we fail to achieve our goals, procrastination is often the culprit. But how exactly is procrastination to be understood? This edited volume integrates the problem of procrastination into philosophical inquiry, exploring the relationship of procrastination to agency, rationality, and ethics.
The thief of time
Same-sex marriage
Several noted legal scholars, most prominently Richard Posner, have applied the economic analysis of law to the debate over same-sex marriage. In this note, I argue that the economic approach to law is ill-equipped to deal with the issues of principle, dignity and rights that are at the core of the debate, regardless of the position taken on the issue. Other scholars, such as Darren Bush, acknowledge the shortcomings of the economic approach, suc…
Iron Man and philosophy
Kantian Ethics and the Prisoners' Dilemma
In Defense of Deontology and Kant
In this note, I respond to a recent article by Irene van Staveren (2007) in this journal, where she presents a case for virtue ethics, rather than deontology or consequentialism, as the most appropriate philosophical foundation for economics. Rather than taking issue with her positive arguments for virtue ethics, I argue in defense of deontology – or, more specifically, the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. I argue that, when properly understood…
Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant
This note points out a neglected parallel between the philosophies of Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant related to their views on self-interest, morality, and society. First, I explain the distinction between Kant’s perfect and imperfect duties, and how they result from his moral philosophy. Next, I summarize Smith’s two major perspectives on human behavior, as presented in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, and discuss the appa…
Pareto, Consent, and Respect for Dignity
This paper argues that the Pareto standard, by which policy changes are approved if they benefit at least one person and harms no one, is ethically questionable despite its nearly universal acceptance among economists and philosophers alike. As usually implemented, the Pareto standard bypasses actual consent, relying instead on hypothetical consent based on imputed measures of preferences or wellbeing. By so circumventing actual choice, the Paret…
Introduction to Ethics and Economics
Economics and the Mind
'Economics and the Mind' brings economists and philosophers of the mind together to explore the intersection of their disciplines
A Kantian critique of neoclassical law and economics
This paper outlines a critique of neoclassical law and economics based on the ethics of Immanuel Kant, focusing on four central topics: efficiency as the sole evaluative criterion for policy-making, hypothetical compensation in Kaldor–Hicks efficiency, the instrumental nature of rights and the assumption of reciprocal causation, and the role of punishment to both society and the individual. This overview addresses issues of concern not just to Ka…
Multiple utilities and weakness of will
This paper argues that a Kantian model of decision-making, one that incorporates moral duties alongside standard preferences and constraints, can account for the complexities of actual ethical choice within a model with a single (constrained) preference ranking. Multiple utilities are required only to explain the failure to make appropriate decisions. Such occasions, often referred to as cases of weakness of will or akrasia, are easily explained …
Preaching to the choir
This note is a critical response to Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell's recent treatise on law and economics, Fairness Versus Welfare, in which they argue that legal decision-making should be conducted with the sole goal of welfare-maximization. After a brief summary of the book, this paper focuses on three primary problems with its contents and approach. First, the tautological nature of the authors' argument, which they acknowledge but downplay i…
Kantian dignity and social economics
Many social economists endorse the ethics of Immanuel Kant, specifically his emphasis on the dignity of humanity and the equal respect due all persons. Based on these tenets, Kant mandates a social outlook in which concern for others, characterized by negative duties of respect and positive duties of beneficence, are broadly required of all rational agents. However, some of the positions that social economists derive from Kantian dignity actually…
A Kantian critique of neoclassical law and economics
This paper outlines a critique of neoclassical law and economics based on the ethics of Immanuel Kant, focusing on four central topics: efficiency as the sole evaluative criterion for policy-making, hypothetical compensation in Kaldor–Hicks efficiency, the instrumental nature of rights and the assumption of reciprocal causation, and the role of punishment to both society and the individual. This overview addresses issues of concern not just to Ka…
Nudging Merit Goods
Mainstream economics has traditionally maintained a respect for preferences and the choices that individuals make based on them. But recent advances in psychology and behavioral economics have led scholars and policy-maker to doubt if people make wise choices in their own interests. Based on this, libertarian paternalists endorse choice interventions—nudges—designed to steer people to decisions that will better promote their interests. However, t…
Pareto, Consent, and Respect for Dignity
This paper argues that the Pareto standard, by which policy changes are approved if they benefit at least one person and harms no one, is ethically questionable despite its nearly universal acceptance among economists and philosophers alike. As usually implemented, the Pareto standard bypasses actual consent, relying instead on hypothetical consent based on imputed measures of preferences or wellbeing. By so circumventing actual choice, the Paret…
Kantian dignity and social economics
Many social economists endorse the ethics of Immanuel Kant, specifically his emphasis on the dignity of humanity and the equal respect due all persons. Based on these tenets, Kant mandates a social outlook in which concern for others, characterized by negative duties of respect and positive duties of beneficence, are broadly required of all rational agents. However, some of the positions that social economists derive from Kantian dignity actually…
In Defense of Deontology and Kant
In this note, I respond to a recent article by Irene van Staveren (2007) in this journal, where she presents a case for virtue ethics, rather than deontology or consequentialism, as the most appropriate philosophical foundation for economics. Rather than taking issue with her positive arguments for virtue ethics, I argue in defense of deontology – or, more specifically, the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. I argue that, when properly understood…
Multiple utilities and weakness of will
This paper argues that a Kantian model of decision-making, one that incorporates moral duties alongside standard preferences and constraints, can account for the complexities of actual ethical choice within a model with a single (constrained) preference ranking. Multiple utilities are required only to explain the failure to make appropriate decisions. Such occasions, often referred to as cases of weakness of will or akrasia, are easily explained …
Kantian dignity and social economics
Many social economists endorse the ethics of Immanuel Kant, specifically his emphasis on the dignity of humanity and the equal respect due all persons. Based on these tenets, Kant mandates a social outlook in which concern for others, characterized by negative duties of respect and positive duties of beneficence, are broadly required of all rational agents. However, some of the positions that social economists derive from Kantian dignity actually…
Preaching to the choir
This note is a critical response to Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell's recent treatise on law and economics, Fairness Versus Welfare, in which they argue that legal decision-making should be conducted with the sole goal of welfare-maximization. After a brief summary of the book, this paper focuses on three primary problems with its contents and approach. First, the tautological nature of the authors' argument, which they acknowledge but downplay i…
A Kantian critique of neoclassical law and economics
This paper outlines a critique of neoclassical law and economics based on the ethics of Immanuel Kant, focusing on four central topics: efficiency as the sole evaluative criterion for policy-making, hypothetical compensation in Kaldor–Hicks efficiency, the instrumental nature of rights and the assumption of reciprocal causation, and the role of punishment to both society and the individual. This overview addresses issues of concern not just to Ka…
Multiple utilities and weakness of will
This paper argues that a Kantian model of decision-making, one that incorporates moral duties alongside standard preferences and constraints, can account for the complexities of actual ethical choice within a model with a single (constrained) preference ranking. Multiple utilities are required only to explain the failure to make appropriate decisions. Such occasions, often referred to as cases of weakness of will or akrasia, are easily explained …
Economics and the Mind
'Economics and the Mind' brings economists and philosophers of the mind together to explore the intersection of their disciplines
Kantian Ethics and the Prisoners' Dilemma
In Defense of Deontology and Kant
In this note, I respond to a recent article by Irene van Staveren (2007) in this journal, where she presents a case for virtue ethics, rather than deontology or consequentialism, as the most appropriate philosophical foundation for economics. Rather than taking issue with her positive arguments for virtue ethics, I argue in defense of deontology – or, more specifically, the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. I argue that, when properly understood…
Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant
This note points out a neglected parallel between the philosophies of Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant related to their views on self-interest, morality, and society. First, I explain the distinction between Kant’s perfect and imperfect duties, and how they result from his moral philosophy. Next, I summarize Smith’s two major perspectives on human behavior, as presented in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations, and discuss the appa…
Pareto, Consent, and Respect for Dignity
This paper argues that the Pareto standard, by which policy changes are approved if they benefit at least one person and harms no one, is ethically questionable despite its nearly universal acceptance among economists and philosophers alike. As usually implemented, the Pareto standard bypasses actual consent, relying instead on hypothetical consent based on imputed measures of preferences or wellbeing. By so circumventing actual choice, the Paret…
Introduction to Ethics and Economics
The Thief of Time
When we fail to achieve our goals, procrastination is often the culprit. But how exactly is procrastination to be understood? This edited volume integrates the problem of procrastination into philosophical inquiry, exploring the relationship of procrastination to agency, rationality, and ethics.
The thief of time
Same-sex marriage
Several noted legal scholars, most prominently Richard Posner, have applied the economic analysis of law to the debate over same-sex marriage. In this note, I argue that the economic approach to law is ill-equipped to deal with the issues of principle, dignity and rights that are at the core of the debate, regardless of the position taken on the issue. Other scholars, such as Darren Bush, acknowledge the shortcomings of the economic approach, suc…
Iron Man and philosophy
Retributivism
This book offers analysis and explanations of new developments in retributivism, the philosophical account of punishment that holds that wrongdoers must be punished as a matter of right, duty, or justice, rather than to serve some general social purpose such as deterrence or individual purpose such as rehabilitation of the criminal or the vengeance of the victim. The contemporary debate over retributivist punishment has become particularly vibran…
Retributivism
The contributors offer analysis and explanations of new developments in retributivism, the philosophical account of punishment that holds that wrongdoers must be punished as a matter of right, duty, or justice, rather than deterrence, rehabilitation, or vengeance.
The Manipulation of Choice
The Problem with Economic Models of Choice How Behavioral Economists Make These Problems Worse, Not Better How Behavioral Economics Met Law-and-Economics and Begat Nudge Why Nudge Can't Work Why Nudge Is Unethical Why Nudge Will Backfire in the Long Run Why Nudge is Paternalistic (and Hardly Libertarian) - and Why Paternalism Is Wrong Why Choice is Valuable and Should Be Yours to Make
The Pursuit of a Measure of Happiness
Three new books contribute to the growing economic literature on happiness, each offering a unique perspective on the issue and speaking to different audiences. Briefly, Hirata's book is an academi
Can We—and Should We—Measure Well-Being
In this article, I argue that recent criticisms of happiness research in economics can be extended to any conception of well-being used for scientific or policymaking purposes. These criticisms are both practical and ethical: well-being is not only impossible to define, measure, or implement, but its use also offends human dignity through unjust distribution of harm and value substitution. On this basis, I recommend the abandonment of welfare eco…
On the Relevance of Wrongfulness to the Concept of Externalities
This paper examines the concept of externalities using the concepts of rights and corrective justice as an alternative to utilitarianism and efficiency. Specifically, standard treatments of externalities in welfare economics do not consider the role of wrongfulness in the harms that economists and policymakers aim to optimize. I argue that if a harm is wrongful, involving the violation of a valid legal right, then it can be addressed through the …
Judgment
Judgment is an element of decision-making that is of critical importance to both ethics and economics but remains underappreciated in both. In this paper, I describe one conception of moral judgment, drawn from the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the legal philosophy of Ronald Dworkin, in which an agent weighs and balances the various moral duties and principles relevant to a choice situation in a way that maintains the integrity of her mor…
Nudging Merit Goods
Mainstream economics has traditionally maintained a respect for preferences and the choices that individuals make based on them. But recent advances in psychology and behavioral economics have led scholars and policy-maker to doubt if people make wise choices in their own interests. Based on this, libertarian paternalists endorse choice interventions—nudges—designed to steer people to decisions that will better promote their interests. However, t…
Preferences All the Way Down
Behavioral economics has enriched our understanding of the limitations and imperfections of human decision-making that were neglected by the overly simplistic neoclassical model of choice. However insightful its results and clever its modifications to the traditional model of choice, much of behavioral economics is built upon the core of that model, constrained preference-satisfaction, which cannot accommodate many other aspects of human choice s…
With All Due Respect
Mainstream economics is essentially utilitarian, both in the motivations it ascribes to individual decision-makers as well as in welfare economics and policy recommendations. But utilitarianism is widely criticized, especially regarding its failure to recognize the value of the individual or recognize meaningful rights. This chapter incorporates into economics the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, which emphasizes principle and rig…
The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics
The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Economics provides a timely and thorough survey of the various ways ethics can, does, and should inform economic theory and practice. The first part of the book, Foundations, explores how the most prominent schools of moral philosophy relate to economics; asks how morals relevant to economic behavior may have evolved; and explains how various approaches to economics incorporate ethics into their work. The second …
Economics (18 works) · Political science (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Positive economics (13 works) · Law and economics (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Economic Theory and Institutions (10 works) · Philosophy (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Epistemology (8 works)