john and jeremy are utilitarians. john believes that labor supply is highly elastic, whereas Jeremy believes that labor supply is quite inelastic. How do you suppose their views about income redistribution differ?
Since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "utilitarian 'labor supply' elastic" to get these possible sources:
http://crookedtimber.org/2005/05/16/sophists-economists-and-calculators/
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:SfpdcZH1iqIJ:www.georgetown.edu/faculty/wgj/Eissa.pdf+utilitarian+%22labor+supply%22+elastic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5&client=safari
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:uzIavfHxK9wJ:minerva.acc.virginia.edu/economics/Workshops/Fall%25202006/proposals/carrollproposal.pdf+utilitarian+%22labor+supply%22+elastic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8&client=safari
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:NxehiBKRvusJ:www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/pdf/jjwbgsp/description/F1_A%2520Framework%2520of%2520Taxation.pdf+utilitarian+%22labor+supply%22+elastic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=10&client=safari
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:5ScDvpsDQ0oJ:www.econ.washington.edu/user/sturn/Garcia-Pen-Turn-JPubE.pdf+utilitarian+%22labor+supply%22+elastic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=16&client=safari
Use the key words or phrases, one at a time, to search within each article.
I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.
John and Jeremy, both being utilitarians, have different views about income redistribution based on their beliefs about the elasticity of labor supply.
John, who believes that labor supply is highly elastic, would argue that income redistribution can be used to incentivize individuals to work more and increase their labor supply. He may argue that if taxes are lower for the wealthy and higher for the poor, it would create a stronger incentive for individuals to work harder and invest in their education and skills. John believes that this increased labor supply would lead to overall economic growth and prosperity for society as a whole.
On the other hand, Jeremy, who believes that labor supply is quite inelastic, would argue that income redistribution may not have a significant impact on the overall labor supply. He may argue that individuals have limited ability to increase their work hours or productivity, regardless of the incentives provided through income redistribution. Jeremy may believe that taxes should be used to redistribute income from the wealthy to the poor in order to address income inequality and provide a social safety net for those in need.
Therefore, their views on income redistribution differ based on their beliefs about the elasticity of labor supply. John believes that income redistribution can be used to incentivize increased labor supply, while Jeremy believes that income redistribution is necessary to address income inequality and provide social support regardless of labor supply.