Having enough and not having too much: A characterization of sufficientarianism–limitarianism

C-Tier
Journal: Economics Letters
Year: 2025
Volume: 250
Issue: C

Authors (2)

Ferreira, João V. (not in RePEc) Savva, Foivos (University of Southampton)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Sufficientarianism, a prominent framework in distributive justice, asserts that everyone should have enough resources to meet a minimum threshold. Limitarianism, by contrast, holds that no individual should possess more than a specified upper limit of income or wealth. While the latter has gained attention in political philosophy and policy debates, it remains largely unexplored in formal normative economics. This paper bridges this gap by offering an axiomatic characterization of a social welfare criterion that integrates sufficientarian and limitarian principles. We formalize these dual commitments and investigate their implications for resource allocation. The analysis sheds light on the theoretical underpinnings of this hybrid approach and its potential relevance for normative analysis.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:ecolet:v:250:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525001235
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29