規範的経済学の対象・方法・情報的基礎－－イントロダクション－－

鈴村興太郎 (一橋大学名誉教授・日本学士院)

Scope, Methods, and Informational Bases of Normative Economics: An Introduction

Kotaro Suzumura (Member, The Japan Academy, Professor Emeritus, Hitotsubashi University)

要旨Abstract

　規範的経済学は，経済の制度や政策の善・悪を評価すること，現存の制度や政策の欠陥を改善する方法を設計して実装する経済学の分野である．この論文は，規範的経済学の対象・方法・情報的基礎を説明することを課題としている．現存制度の在り方を分析する実証的経済学とは対照的に，規範的経済学は制度を選択可能な変数と考えて，その設計・評価・選択・実装の可能性を追求する．両分野の相違を反映して，実証的経済学の情報的基礎は現実の経済活動の成果を記述した情報であるが，規範的経済学は想像上の境遇の交換など，現存制度の性能を理解するために反事実的な情報をも駆使する点に特徴を持っている．この事実を強調するために，もはや存在しない遠い過去世代およびいまだ存在しない遠い将来世代を，現存世代と並行して考慮すべき地球温暖化問題を例にとり，規範的経済学の情報的基礎は伝統的な厚生主義を越えて拡大されるべきことを主張する．

　Normative economics is a branch of economics that focuses on the evaluation of economic policies and/or institutions, and designs and implements alternative policies and/or institutions that rectify the defects of the current policy and/or institution. The task of this paper is to explain the scope, methods, and informational bases of normative economics. In contrast with positive economics that examines the actual performance of the existing policy and/or institution, normative economics treats policies and/or institutions as variables to be designed, evaluated, and implemented. Reflecting this contrast, the informational basis of positive economics consists of the information that describe the actual performance of economic policies and/or institutions, whereas the informational basis of normative economics may also accommodate counterfactual information that is acquired through imaginary exchange of circumstances among persons. Another feature of normative economics is that it may accommodate not only contemporary persons, but also persons in the far-distant past as well as those in the far-distant future. To exemplify the acute relevance of this expansion of the scope of normative economics, the paper introduces the problem of global warming. It is shown that the informational basis of normative economics should go beyond the traditional informational basis of welfaristic consequentialism or welfarism in short.

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書誌情報Bibliographic information

Vol. 67, No. 2, 2016 , pp. 97-106
HERMES-IR（一橋大学機関リポジトリ）: https://doi.org/10.15057/27908
JEL Classification Codes: A13, D60, I31