Abstract
This article analyzes gifts of scarce resources motivated by altruistic feelings such as love for one’s children, or compassion for the poor. Such moral sentiments belong to the wide class of phenomena known in economic theory as externalities, that may be defined, negatively, as the relationships between economic agents that exert an influence on the allocation of scarce resources which is not conveyed by market prices. An externality is, in other words, a type of social relationship that exists alongside markets and interacts with their functioning.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barro, R. J. and Becker, G. S. (1988) ‘A Reformulation of the Economic Theory of Fertility’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 103, pp. 1–25.
Gale, D. (1973) ‘Pure Exchange Equilibrium of Dynamic Economic Models’, Journal of Economic Theory, vol. 6, pp. 12–36.
Godelier, M. (1996) L’Enigme du Don, Paris: Fayard. Translated as The Enigma of the Gift, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999.
Grandmont, J. M. (1983) Money and Value, Cambridge University Press; (trans. (1986) as Monnaie et Valeur, Paris: Economica).
Hochman, A. M. and Rodgers, J. D. (1969) ‘Pareto Optimal Redistribution’, American Economic Review, vol. 59, pp. 542–57.
Kolm, S. C. (1966) ‘La Production Optimale de Justice Sociale’, Conférence de l’AISE, Biarritz; Economic Publique, Paris: Editions du CNRS (1968); Public Economics, London: Macmillan (1969).
Kolm, S. C. (1985) Le Contrat Social Libéral, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
Kolm, S. C. (1987) ‘Public Economics’, in J. Eatwell, M. Milgate and P. Newman (eds). The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, London: Macmillan pp. 1047–55.
Mauss, M. (1924) ‘Essai sur le Don. Forme et Raison de l’Échange dans les Sociétés Archaïques,’ L’Année Sociologique, Vol. 1. Translated as The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies, New York and London: W. W. Norton, 1990.
Mercier Ythier, J. (1992) ‘Existence of a General Equilibrium of Individual Gifts’, Working Paper, Université de Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Mercier Ythier, J. (1993) ‘Equilibre Général de Dons Individuels’, Revue Économique, pp. 925–50.
Mercier Ythier, J. (1997) ‘First-order Conditions for Distributive Efficiency’, Working Paper GREQAM.
Mercier Ythier, J. (1998a) ‘The Distribution of Wealth in the Liberal Social Contract’, European Economic Review, vol. 42, pp. 329–47.
Mercier Ythier, J. (1998b) ‘Existence of an Equilibrium of Property Rights’, Mathematical Social Sciences, vol. 35, pp. 261–72.
Ramsey, F. P. (1928) ‘A Mathematical Theory of Saving’, Économic Journal, vol. 38, pp. 543–9.
Samuelson, P. A. (1958) ‘An Exact Consumption-Loan Model With or Without the Social Contrivance of Money’, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 66, pp. 467–82.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2000 International Economic Association
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ythier, J.M. (2000). Gift Equilibrium and the Liberal Distributive Social Contract: A Tentative Synthesis. In: Gérard-Varet, LA., Kolm, SC., Ythier, J.M. (eds) The Economics of Reciprocity, Giving and Altruism. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62745-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62745-5_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-62747-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-62745-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)