The View from `Manywhere’: Normative Economics with Context-Dependent Preferences
Abstract
We propose a methodology for behavioural normative economics based on a precise characterisation of context-dependence. The key feature of our proposal is to locate normative authority, not in the synoptic and third-person judgement of the social planner (‘view from nowhere’), nor in the first-person judgement of the individual (‘view from somewhere’), but in the second-person ability of the individual to confront conflicting judgements across contexts (‘view from manywhere’). We offer a definition of the ‘context’ in behavioural normative economics, propose a critical review of the related literature, and then advance our own proposal. We formulate a normative criterion of ‘self-determination’ and justify it with two complementary approaches, interpreting the ‘view from manywhere’ either as an extension of Sugden’s opportunity criterion, or as an application of Sen’s ‘positional views’ in his theory of justice to behavioural normative economics.
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