<p>The title &quot;Choice Theory&quot; is a bit ambiguous, because it could refer to <em>Social</em> Choice Theory (the theory of collective decisions), but it could also refer to the broader concept of <em>Rational</em> Choice Theory (i.e. normative decision theory, which concerns decisions by individual rational agents).  The first two topics that you mention sound like they are more about <em>rational</em> choice theory, whereas the last four topics are more about <em>social</em> choice and social welfare.</p>
<p>Although it is somewhat out of date, the best overall textbook on social choice theory is still:</p>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/axioms-of-cooperative-decision-making/481FCBCDD15F3CCEE2FE381E7BF17B3D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Axioms of Cooperative Decision Making</a></em>, by Hervé Moulin.</li>
</ul>
<p>This book also contains a good discussion of individual rational choice, so it addresses your first two topics as well.</p>
<p>Other good textbook introductions to social choice and social welfare are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Chapters 21-23 of <em><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/axioms-of-cooperative-decision-making/481FCBCDD15F3CCEE2FE381E7BF17B3D" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Microeconomic Theory</a></em> by Mas-Colell,  Whinston  and Green;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=3TmW5ahsMLIC&amp;printsec=copyright&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Welfare Economics and Social Choice Theory</a></em>, by Allan M. Feldman and Roberto Serrano;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=JxXtAdUYqE4C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Collective Preference and Choice</a></em> by Shmuel Nitzan;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-primer-in-social-choice-theory-9780199565306?cc=fr&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">A Primer in Social Choice Theory</a></em>, by Wulf Gaertner (nontechnical and accessible to beginners); and</li>
<li><em><a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Theories_of_Distributive_Justice/qQkX24xj9akC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;printsec=frontcover" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Theories of Distributive Justice</a></em>, by John Roemer (this one has more emphasis on connections to moral philosophy and political philosophy).</li>
</ul>
<p>(There are also more specialized books on specific topics in social choice such as bargaining theory, strategic voting and mechanism design, voting paradoxes, fair division, intergenerational justice, judgement aggregation, approval voting, population ethics, etc., but I assume that these are not germane to the present discussion.)  Finally, there are a series of very nice &quot;Handbooks&quot;, which contain chapter-length surveys of the recent advances in the literature written by experts:</p>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Welfare.html?id=rh10cOpltLsC&amp;redir_esc=y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook of Social Choice and Welfare  I</a></em>, edited by Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen and Kōtarō Suzumura;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Welfare.html?id=uFlFKcjKSkYC&amp;redir_esc=y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook of Social Choice and Welfare II</a></em>, edited by Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen and Kōtarō Suzumura;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Voting/KrckCwAAQBAJ?hl=en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook of Social Choice and Voting</a></em>, edited by Nicholas  Miller and Jac Heckelman;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/The_Handbook_of_Rational_and_Social_Choi.html?id=JFtmm_QlUzIC&amp;redir_esc=y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice</a></em>, edited by Paul Anand, Prasanta Pattanaik and Clemens Puppe;</li>
<li><em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=nMHgCwAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=copyright&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Handbook of Computational Social Choice</a></em>, edited by Felix Brandt, Vincent Conitzer, Ulle Endriss, Jérôme Lang and Ariel Procaccia; and</li>
<li><em><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-well-being-and-public-policy-9780199325818?cc=gb&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Oxford Handbook of Wellbeing and Public Policy</a></em>, edited by Matthew Adler and Marc Fleurbaey.</li>
</ul>
<p>As its name suggests, the <em><a href="https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/The_Handbook_of_Rational_and_Social_Choi.html?id=JFtmm_QlUzIC&amp;redir_esc=y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice</a></em> also contains several chapters about the broader topic of rational choice.  Here are some other good references on rational choice:</p>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262518055/rational-choice/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Rational choice</a></em>, by Itzhak Gilboa;</li>
<li><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/9780792381747" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Handbook of utility theory</em> I</a>, edited by  Salvador Barbera, Peter Hammond and Christian Seidl; and</li>
<li><a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-7964-1" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Handbook of utility theory</em> II</a>, edited by  Salvador Barbera, Peter Hammond and Christian Seidl.</li>
</ul>
<p>To learn more about social choice and social welfare, some other useful resources are:</p>
<ul>
<li>The journals <em><a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/355" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Social Choice &amp; Welfare</a></em>,   <em><a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/11238" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Theory &amp; Decision</a></em>, and <em><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-and-philosophy" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Economics &amp; Philosophy</a></em>;</li>
<li>The <em><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/2021onlinescwseminars/home" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Online Social Choice and Welfare Seminar</a></em> series (which has almost four years of video recordings of past seminars);</li>
<li>The <em><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/comsoc-seminar/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Computational Social Choice Video Seminar</a></em> (likewise);
and</li>
<li>The <em><a href="https://groups.google.com/g/social-choice-and-welfare-forum" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Online Social Choice and Welfare Forum</a></em> (a mailing list and discussion forum);</li>
<li><a href="https://%20https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOfTMPqb4h4YpejIw7acMsdUnBm51a-FD" rel="nofollow noreferrer">30 hours of video lectures</a> on computational social choice by Felix Brandt.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-19T07:13:53.910Z
2023-10-20T15:28:11.877Z
2023-10-20T15:28:11.877Z
Marcus Pivato
<p>I am a post-graduate economics student in India, currently taking a core course in <strong>Choice Theory</strong>. Unfortunately, there is no standardized text which we are following for the course. The course structure is attached herewith:</p>
<ul>
<li>Concepts of rationalizability</li>
<li>Characterization or Rational Choice Functions</li>
<li>Consistency conditions and Arrows axiom and the Generalized Condorcet Axiom</li>
<li>Pareto criterion and Pareto inclusive Choice Rules.</li>
<li>Compensation tests and the Collective choice functions.</li>
<li>Social Decision Functions and Value Judgement.</li>
</ul>
<p>If anyone has suggestions based on the course structure, I would greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you in advance for your help.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-18T17:34:08.233Z
There is Robert Nau's PhD Seminar in Choice Theory Lecture Notes: https://people.duke.edu/~rnau/choice/
EconJohn
<reference-request><welfare-economics><social-choice>
Choice Theory Book Reccomendations
Anonymous
# Choice Theory Book Reccomendations

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-18)

I am a post-graduate economics student in India, currently taking a core course in **Choice Theory**. Unfortunately, there is no standardized text which we are following for the course. The course structure is attached herewith:

* Concepts of rationalizability
* Characterization or Rational Choice Functions
* Consistency conditions and Arrows axiom and the Generalized Condorcet Axiom
* Pareto criterion and Pareto inclusive Choice Rules.
* Compensation tests and the Collective choice functions.
* Social Decision Functions and Value Judgement.

If anyone has suggestions based on the course structure, I would greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you in advance for your help.

**Tags:** reference-request, welfare-economics, social-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There is Robert Nau's PhD Seminar in Choice Theory Lecture Notes: https://people.duke.edu/~rnau/choice/  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-10-19. Score: 6

The title "Choice Theory" is a bit ambiguous, because it could refer to *Social* Choice Theory (the theory of collective decisions), but it could also refer to the broader concept of *Rational* Choice Theory (i.e. normative decision theory, which concerns decisions by individual rational agents). The first two topics that you mention sound like they are more about *rational* choice theory, whereas the last four topics are more about *social* choice and social welfare.

Although it is somewhat out of date, the best overall textbook on social choice theory is still:

* *[Axioms of Cooperative Decision Making](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/axioms-of-cooperative-decision-making/481FCBCDD15F3CCEE2FE381E7BF17B3D)*, by Hervé Moulin.

This book also contains a good discussion of individual rational choice, so it addresses your first two topics as well.

Other good textbook introductions to social choice and social welfare are:

* Chapters 21-23 of *[Microeconomic Theory](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/axioms-of-cooperative-decision-making/481FCBCDD15F3CCEE2FE381E7BF17B3D)* by Mas-Colell, Whinston and Green;
* *[Welfare Economics and Social Choice Theory](https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=3TmW5ahsMLIC&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)*, by Allan M. Feldman and Roberto Serrano;
* *[Collective Preference and Choice](https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=JxXtAdUYqE4C&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)* by Shmuel Nitzan;
* *[A Primer in Social Choice Theory](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-primer-in-social-choice-theory-9780199565306?cc=fr&lang=en&)*, by Wulf Gaertner (nontechnical and accessible to beginners); and
* *[Theories of Distributive Justice](https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Theories_of_Distributive_Justice/qQkX24xj9akC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover)*, by John Roemer (this one has more emphasis on connections to moral philosophy and political philosophy).

(There are also more specialized books on specific topics in social choice such as bargaining theory, strategic voting and mechanism design, voting paradoxes, fair division, intergenerational justice, judgement aggregation, approval voting, population ethics, etc., but I assume that these are not germane to the present discussion.) Finally, there are a series of very nice "Handbooks", which contain chapter-length surveys of the recent advances in the literature written by experts:

* *[Handbook of Social Choice and Welfare I](https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Welfare.html?id=rh10cOpltLsC&redir_esc=y)*, edited by Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen and Kōtarō Suzumura;
* *[Handbook of Social Choice and Welfare II](https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Welfare.html?id=uFlFKcjKSkYC&redir_esc=y)*, edited by Kenneth Arrow, Amartya Sen and Kōtarō Suzumura;
* *[Handbook of Social Choice and Voting](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Handbook_of_Social_Choice_and_Voting/KrckCwAAQBAJ?hl=en)*, edited by Nicholas Miller and Jac Heckelman;
* *[The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice](https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/The_Handbook_of_Rational_and_Social_Choi.html?id=JFtmm_QlUzIC&redir_esc=y)*, edited by Paul Anand, Prasanta Pattanaik and Clemens Puppe;
* *[Handbook of Computational Social Choice](https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=nMHgCwAAQBAJ&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)*, edited by Felix Brandt, Vincent Conitzer, Ulle Endriss, Jérôme Lang and Ariel Procaccia; and
* *[Oxford Handbook of Wellbeing and Public Policy](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-well-being-and-public-policy-9780199325818?cc=gb&lang=en&)*, edited by Matthew Adler and Marc Fleurbaey.

As its name suggests, the *[The Handbook of Rational and Social Choice](https://books.google.com.mx/books/about/The_Handbook_of_Rational_and_Social_Choi.html?id=JFtmm_QlUzIC&redir_esc=y)* also contains several chapters about the broader topic of rational choice. Here are some other good references on rational choice:

* *[Rational choice](https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262518055/rational-choice/)*, by Itzhak Gilboa;
* [*Handbook of utility theory* I](https://link.springer.com/book/9780792381747), edited by Salvador Barbera, Peter Hammond and Christian Seidl; and
* [*Handbook of utility theory* II](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-7964-1), edited by Salvador Barbera, Peter Hammond and Christian Seidl.

To learn more about social choice and social welfare, some other useful resources are:

* The journals *[Social Choice & Welfare](https://www.springer.com/journal/355)*, *[Theory & Decision](https://www.springer.com/journal/11238)*, and *[Economics & Philosophy](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-and-philosophy)*;
* The *[Online Social Choice and Welfare Seminar](https://sites.google.com/view/2021onlinescwseminars/home)* series (which has almost four years of video recordings of past seminars);
* The *[Computational Social Choice Video Seminar](https://sites.google.com/view/comsoc-seminar/)* (likewise);
  and
* The *[Online Social Choice and Welfare Forum](https://groups.google.com/g/social-choice-and-welfare-forum)* (a mailing list and discussion forum);
* [30 hours of video lectures](https://%20https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOfTMPqb4h4YpejIw7acMsdUnBm51a-FD) on computational social choice by Felix Brandt.


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