Motivational Strategies, Conditional Welfare and Distributive Justice

<p>In this dissertation I examine the normative implications of different motivational strategies when applied to address the behavioral obstacles of various redistributive schemes, in particular, in the case of income redistribution policies and the provision of essential services. I intend to show that negative inducements can have some advantages with reference to other motivational instruments. For example, negative inducements are often the main motivational strategies behind conditional welfare policies. I argue against the view that conditional welfare policies are always hostile to the poor and the less fortunate. Moreover, I explain why redistributive schemes whose benefits are tied to specified patterns of behavior do not necessarily constitute a betrayal of progressive ideals. I defend the claim that there is nothing intrinsically wrong in setting behavioral conditions on aid, although care must be taken in doing so. This is against the view that unconditional welfare policies are less normatively troubling than conditional ones since the former impose fewer or no behavioral conditions on their recipients.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Perez, Cristian

Contributors dc:contributor

• Frank Lovett

• Distributive justice
• Motivational strategies
• Redistributive policies
• Welfare policies

Language dc:language

English (en)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7936/K70G3H80

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-2332