Equity and Choice: An Essay in Economics and Applied Philosophy

In this book Julian Le Grand offers an answer to an age- old problem: the meaning of an equitable or just distribution of resources. He examines the principal interpretations of equity used by economists and political philosophers, and argues that none of them captures the essence of the term as well as an alternative conception, relating equity to the existence or otherwise of individual choice. He shows that this conception is not only well-grounded philosophically but also is directly relevant to key areas of distributional policy, such as health care, intergovernmental grants and income taxation. The book is written by an economist, but is intended for political philosophers and social policy analysts as well as economists. Hence the key chapters are written in a nontechnical fashion, with specialized material relegated to appendices. The book is a unique combination of philosophical, economic and policy analysis and represents a major contribution to all three areas.