If A harms B, is it fair to blame A? Harm is caused by both A and B - if B wasn't around there would be no harm in the first place.
Is it cheaper, then, to ask B to leave or A to leave? Or, what amounts to the same thing, ask B to pay A or A to pay B?
Is it cheaper, then, to ask B to leave or A to leave? Or, what amounts to the same thing, ask B to pay A or A to pay B?
5 comments:
what kind of harm is this? that would be important as well..
if its a transitory harm such that if B wasn't there then the harm would have dissipated into nothing then its more comlicated. but if the harm is kinda permanent like polluting for example then because B was there B faced the harm, but if B hadn't been there then the harm would have waited to harm someone else. in this case A should be asked to pay.
what if its cheaper for B to pay A
i.e. B's WTA < A's WTP
permanent/transitory doesn't matter. if harm is permanent then B will be replaced by C (say). the question will be the same, except "B" is replaced by "C".
but perhaps, you mean to say, what if because of the damage B moves out and C moves in? then you need to evaluate the cost of B's moving wrt A's WTP.
no you said "harm is caused by both B and A. if B wasn't there, there wouldn't be any harm" this implies an example like A was in a mood to fight, and if B hadn't been in front of him there would have been no fight; but because B was present, the fight occured. in this case who do you blame. but if it is a harm that would have been caused even if A was alone, and maybe the harm would have been created then, and would have existed to harm anyone who comes along even with a time gap, then A is to blame alone, and should pay.
okay baba "harm" here = pollution, for instance.
A is polluter, B is polluted.
by way of example, you may see that "damage" can only be caused if someone is there to be damaged.
such is the Coasian insight.
pollution is not local alone. so it adds to the air and shifts the harm to other locations as well. so I don't see how its even possible that noone will be harmed.
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