
The Arrow Impossibility Theorem
by Eric Maskin, Amartya Sen · first published 2014
2mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2017–2020first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
Kenneth J. Arrow's pathbreaking "impossibility theorem" was a watershed innovation in the history of welfare economics, voting theory, and collective choice, demonstrating that there is no voting rule that satisfies the four desirable axioms of decisiveness, consensus, nondictatorship, and independence. In this book Eric Maskin and Amartya Sen explore the implications of Arrow's theorem. Sen considers its ongoing utility, exploring the theorem's value and limitations in relation to recent research on social reasoning, and Maskin discusses how to design a voting rule that gets us closer to the
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For someone interested in a contemporary view of his "Impossibility Theorem", especially in policy planning, I recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Arrow-Impossibility-Theorem-Kenneth-L...
on “Kenneth Arrow, Nobel-Winning Economist, Dies at 95” ↗…is the same and I am $1 richer is a better world (partial ordering), but you can't compare that objectively to a world where you got $1 and I didn't. This connects to a group of results (such as the Arrow Impossibility Theorem) that show that social science is limited in the way that mathematics is limited by Godel's theorem, the halting problem, etc. There is no voting system, economic system, etc. which provably produces…
on “Personal OKRs for Success” ↗