Distributive Justice Research Articles

Diversity as Distributive Justice

Diversity as Distributive Justice

Definitions of Fairness Differ Across Socioeconomic Groups & Shape Perceptions of Algorithmic Decisions

Understanding how people perceive algorithmic decision-making is remains critical, as these systems are increasingly integrated into areas such as education, healthcare, and criminal justice. These perceptions can shape trust in, compliance with, and the perceived legitimacy of automated systems. Focusing on San Francisco's decade-long policy of algorithmic school assignments, we draw on procedural and distributive justice theory to investigate parents' fairness perceptions of San Francisco's school assignment system. We find that key differences in parents' definitions of fairness shape their preferences for what constitutes a fair school assignment system, while also controlling for parents' school assignment outcomes. Moreover, parents' definitions and perceptions of fairness differ across socioeconomic and racial groups. For instance, among white respondents, the most used definition of fairness was "proximity'' to their assigned school, whereas, among Hispanic or Latino parents, the most popular definition of fairness was that the "same rules'' are applied to everyone. It is crucial for computational system designers and policymakers to consider these differences when deciding on the goals and values embedded in decision-making systems and who those goals and values reflect.

From policy to progress: do female parliamentarians influence energy justice?

ABSTRACT Women parliamentarians have been playing an increasingly important role in shaping climate policy and advocating for energy justice in recent years. As lawmakers, they have a unique opportunity to influence policy decisions and prioritize sustainable practices that can mitigate the effects of climate change. Additionally, women parliamentarians bring a unique perspective to the table, often championing issues that directly impact women, children, and marginalized communities who are disproportionately affected by climate change and energy injustices. As the composition of parliamentarians becomes more diversified with the increasing representation of women, it is crucial to investigate whether female parliamentarians influence energy justice. Based on the theory of ecofeminism, which suggests that women are relatively more concerned with environmental sustainability and environmental risks than men, this study tests the hypothesis that women parliamentarians are more likely to take action in favour of energy justice. Specifically, this paper aims to examine the causal effect of female parliamentarians in promoting energy justice in a panel of 62 countries. The study proposes three sub-indicators of energy justice namely distributive justice, procedural justice, and restorative justice. Using the two-stage instrumental variable approach, we isolate the effect of female parliamentarians and find that it is a driver of energy justice. The results of a mediation analysis highlight the role of democracy and human capital as transmission channels, explaining the indirect effect of female parliamentarians on energy justice. The study's conclusions therefore highlight the importance of supporting and empowering women parliamentarians in their efforts to combat climate change and energy injustice.

Merit, Need, Entitlement? Investigating Fairness of Housing Evaluations

Abstract The article empirically investigates how individuals evaluate unequal housing conditions with respect to the distributive justice principles of merit, need, and status entitlement. Also addressed is the “double standards” hypothesis. The data stem from an online survey fielded to a random sample of the population of a mid-sized German city (N = 1,154). In a factorial survey experiment, respondents rated example residential constellations of fictitious persons with respect to their perceived fairness. The vignettes varied merit-, need-, and entitlement-related factors, and housing conditions. The findings show that respondents take these justice principles into account when making judgments about fair housing, and that need-related factors (having children) are more important than merit (professional performance). Further, there are double standards of the form that performance is applied differently based on the gender and occupational status of fictitious residents. The article finishes by discussing issues that should be addressed by future work and calls for more empirical studies on fairness of housing evaluations.

The effects of fair allocation principles on energy system model designs

Abstract What constitutes socially just or unjust energy systems or transitions can be derived from the philosophy and theories of justice. Assessments of distributive justice and utilising them in modelling lead to great differences based on which justice principles are applied. From the limited research so far published in the intersection between energy systems modelling and justice, we find that comparisons between the two principles of utilitarianism and egalitarianism dominate in assessments of distributive justice, with the latter most often considered representing a 'just energy system'. The lack of recognition of alternative and equally valid principles of justice, resting on e.g. capabilities, responsibilities and/or opportunities, leads to a narrow understanding of justice that fails to align with the views of different individuals, stakeholders and societies. More importantly, it can lead to the unjust design of future energy systems and energy systems analysis. 
 
In this work, we contribute to the growing amount of research on distributive justice in energy systems modelling by assessing the implications of different philosophical views on justice on modelling results. Through a modelling exercise with a power system model for Europe (highRES), we explore different designs of a future (2050) net-zero European electricity system, and its distributional implications based on the application of different justice principles. In addition to the utilitarian and egalitarian approach, we include, among others, principles of 'polluters pay' and 'ability-to-pay', which take historical contributions of greenhouse gas emissions and the socio-economic conditions of a region into account. 
 
We find that fair distributions of electricity generating infrastructure look significantly different depending on the justice principles applied. The results may stimulate a greater discussion among researchers and policymakers on the implications of different constructions of justice in modelling, expansion of approaches, and demonstrate the importance of transparency and assumptions when communicating such results.

Relationship Between Distributive Justice and Employees' Affective Commitment: The Moderating Effects of LMX

The current study explores the effect of LMX and DJ on employees' affective commitment. Significant research has been conducted on the relationship between distributive justice and workplace outcomes. However, limited research has delved into potential moderators of this relationship, specifically in the context of the telecom sector of Pakistan. This study fills this gap by investigating how LMX might influence the relationship between distributive justice and affective commitment as a moderator. Two hundred fifty employed individuals from the telecom sector of Sahiwal, Pakistan, participated in this survey. Data was analyzed using SPSS-24. The results from the analysis supported the study's hypotheses. The results regarding the direct relationship between DJ and AC are in line with existing literature. Additionally, LMX significantly moderated the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Based on these findings, theoretical and practical implications are proposed. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

Distributive justice concerns when combating air pollution: The joint modelling of attitudes and preferences

Distributive justice is an important but often overlooked factor in policy evaluation. We thus examine how people's attitudes towards distributive justice affect their preferences for programmes aimed at reducing ambient air pollution resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels for residential heating. To do so, we carried out two multifactorial survey experiments that allowed us to incorporate justice attitudes into non-market valuation. The first experiment focused on recording justice attitudes towards payment distribution for air quality improvement, while the second experiment measured the willingness to pay for air pollution reduction programmes. Both experiments were conducted with the same respondents, from four cities in Poland, and were conducted separately one to two weeks apart. As a modelling approach, we employ a hybrid choice model. Our findings indicate that people strongly support an equity-based cost distribution and that those with a stronger equity-based distributive justice attitude are more willing to pay for air quality improvement programmes.

Scarcity of resources and distributive justice

This article contributes to the discourse on global justice as it pertains to resources and the just distribution of resources. The focus is on the concept of scarcity. In examining different understandings of scarcity through the use of analogies and examples, a distinction is made between absolute scarcity and relative scarcity. I examine the conceptual understanding of scarcity of resources in the context of distributive justice. Conceptual clarity is necessary to ensure that scarcity is properly referred to in the discourse so that scarcity is not erroneously used when justifications are sought for material deprivation and consequent human suffering. The field of distributive justice arguably requires a full comprehension of scarcity of resources, and this can only be achieved by properly examining the concept of scarcity.

Rethinking the EU’s Deforestation Regulation: A Fairer Approach to Palm Oil in the Global South

This paper explores the debate on the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation on the Palm Oil Industry. While most of the existing literature focuses on the implications of the regulation on the Global South, I explore whether the EU is obligated to revise the regulation on moral terms. In addressing this question, I argue that the European Union has a moral obligation to revise the deforestation regulation or find an alternative way of promoting sustainable agri-food production. The justification is in line with the theory of ‘global distributive justice’, where the benefits and burdens of the policy should be fairly distributed, taking into account the nation’s capabilities and historical contributions to the problem.

The Imperialism of Desert

What is the relation between desert and other values such as equality, priority for the worse off, and utility? According to the common (pluralist) view, desert and these other values reflect distinct concerns: some are about distributive justice, some about retributive justice, and some (most clearly, utility) are not concerned with justice at all. However, another (monistic) view holds that while desert is a basic value, other values are merely derived from it. This controversy is relevant, for instance, to allocative decisions and criminal punishment, where we need to know if other values should be balanced against desert. Yet, despite its theoretical significance and practical importance, this topic is underexplored. Aiming to fill this gap, we consider the arguments for and against the competing views. We demonstrate that the interaction between desert and other values raises a difficult dilemma: there are powerful arguments for and against both the pluralistic and the monistic accounts of desert. Indeed, we suggest that this dilemma is due to the unique nature of desert. Unlike other values, desert, especially its more robust forms, does not only sometimes conflict with competing considerations that favor different courses of actions, but rather seems to dispel other values even as pro tanto ones.

The Effects of Taxes on Income Distribution Justice

One of the most important economic problems that countries have faced from the past to the present is income inequality. Income distribution is an important indicator that allows us to understand the social and political structures of societies by revealing how the income gap between the rich and the poor in a country changes. Thus, income redistribution or income justice is one of the important goals of fiscal policy. Taxes are also important intervention tools that economic management has in achieving this goal. In this context, this study aims to examine the relationships between different types of taxes and income distribution in the Turkish economy during the period from 2002 to 2022 by using markov regime switching analysis method. The analysis results indicate that, during the period covered by the study, indirect taxes have a positive effect on income distribution, while taxes based on declaration have a detrimental effect on income distribution.

Animals, Distributive Justice, and Desert

Animals, Distributive Justice, and Desert

Artificial intelligence for low income countries

The global adoption rate of artificial intelligence (AI) is rising, indicating its transformative potential. However, this adoption is far from uniform, with low-income countries (LICs) trailing behind significantly. Despite needing AI for development, LICs face multiple challenges in harnessing its benefits, exacerbating existing global disparities in technology adoption. In spite of the potentially important role that AI can play in the development of LICs, AI literature overlooks these countries, with research predominantly focused on more advanced economies. This lack of inclusivity contradicts the principles of distributive justice and global equity, prompting us to explore the importance of AI for LICs, offer a theoretical grounding for AI catch-up, identify effective AI domains, and propose strategies to bridge the AI gap. Drawing insights from the leapfrogging and absorptive capacities literature, our position paper presents the feasibility of AI catch-up in LICs. One crucial finding is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving AI catch-up. LICs with strong foundations could favor leapfrogging strategies, while those lacking such foundations might find learning and acquisition prescriptions from absorptive capacity literature more relevant. The article also makes policy recommendations that advocate for the swift integration of AI into critical LIC domains such as health, education, energy, and governance. While LICs must address challenges related to digital infrastructure, human capital, institutional robustness, and effective policymaking, among others, we believe that advanced AI economies and relevant international organizations like UNESCO, OECD, USAID, and the World Bank can support LICs in AI catch-up through tech transfer, grants, and assistance. Overall, our work envisions global AI use that effectively bridges development and innovation disparities.

Understanding the formation process of positive customer engagement behaviors: a quantitative and qualitative interpretation

PurposeTo investigate the impact of cognition, emotion and other factors on positive customer engagement behaviors and to identify the differential formation processes and dynamic changes in these behaviors.Design/methodology/approachWe used cognitive appraisals and coping theory as well as justice theory, to analyze comment data from the Xiaomi Community with natural language processing and binary logistic regression.FindingsOur results indicate that cognition and emotion are unnecessary for positive customer engagement. Users expressing different cognitions and emotions exhibit varied positive engagement behaviors. The behavioral dimension was the most frequently combined, followed by the affective and cognitive dimensions. Managers should adopt material or spiritual incentives to encourage users with positive emotions and cognition to become loyal. Additionally, addressing comments with distributive justice cognition can promote positive customer engagement.Originality/valueThis study clarifies the complex interplay between cognition, emotion and customer engagement behaviors, providing actionable insights for brand managers to foster customer loyalty and positive customer engagement.

Severity and Temporality in Healthcare Priority Setting - A Case for A Condition-specific Affectable Time-neutral Approach.

Priority setting of scarce resources in healthcare is high on the agenda of most healthcare systems implying a need to develop robust foundations for making fair allocation decisions. One central factor for such decisions in needs-based systems, following both empirical studies and theoretical analyses, is severity. However, it has been noted that severity is an under-theorized concept. One such aspect is how severity should relate to temporality. There is a rich discussion on temporality and distributive justice, however, this discussion needs to be adapted to the practical and ethical requirements of healthcare priority setting principles at mid-level. In this article, we analyze how temporal aspects should be taken into account when assessing severity as a modifier for cost-effectiveness. We argue that when assessing the severity of a condition, we have reason to look at complete conditions from a time-neutral perspective, meaning that we take the full affectable stretch of the condition into account without modifying severity as patients move through the temporal stretch and without discounting the future. We do not find support for taking the 'shape' of a condition into account per se, e.g. whether the severity has a declining or inclining curve, or that severity is intermittent rather than continuous. In order to take severity seriously, we argue that we have reason to apply a quantified approach where every difference in severity should impact on priority setting. In conclusion, we find that this approach is practically useful in actual priority setting.

Understanding energy conflicts: From epistemic disputes to competing conceptions of justice

Analysing energy conflicts is crucial to realise a successful and just energy transition. In doing so, it is insufficient to understand energy conflicts as epistemic disagreements about risk analyses and safety, as people often voice moral concerns beyond epistemic debates. To analyse grievances of social movements and citizens in energy conflicts, scholars often adopt a tenet-based energy justice framework that distinguishes between distributive, procedural, recognition and restorative justice. However, categorising claims into tenets does not shed light on disagreements within the tenets. As such, the existing conceptual toolkit is insufficient to understand the core of energy justice conflicts. This article proposes to shift focus towards capturing different conceptions of justice. This approach is illustrated by a qualitative analysis of the controversy around underground gas storage Grijpskerk and Norg in the Netherlands. The results show that the conflict is constituted by competing conceptions of restorative justice. The institutionalisation of one conception delegitimises and hides certain justice concerns and reduces the conflict to an epistemic dispute, which leads to misrecognition and possibly to the escalation of the conflict.

What do host country natives think of return migration? resentment and calls for refugee return

ABSTRACT Amidst rising hostilities and repatriation calls in countries hosting refugees, understanding the dynamics of native perceptions becomes crucial for addressing the growing tensions. This study utilizes an original factorial survey experiment to explore native perceptions of refugee return. In doing so, it identifies resentment -arising from perceived unfair resource allocation to refugees- as a driving factor shaping respective native attitudes. Results suggest that as resentment builds up, natives become more likely to demand refugees' repatriation. Resentment's influence is particularly pronounced in healthcare and education policies, highlighting its context-dependent nature in explaining attitudes. Moreover, the effect of resentment remains robust even when considering alternative predictors (i.e. threat perceptions and contact). This underscores the complex nature of host attitudes towards refugees, suggesting that perceptions of fairness and justice in resource distribution are central to understanding the increasing number of calls for repatriation among native populations. Providing insights from Turkey, an understudied case in migration studies, this study also contributes to our understanding of whether and how existing theories about the drivers of attitudes toward refugees play out in non-Western contexts.

Distributional justice and climate risk assessment: An analysis of disparities within direct and indirect risk.

Climate change and natural hazard risk assessments often overlook indirect impacts, leading to a limited understanding of the full extent of risk and the disparities in its distribution across populations. This study investigates distributional justice in natural hazard impacts, exploring its critical implications for environmental justice, equity, and resilience in adaptation planning. We employ high-resolution spatial risk assessment and origin-destination routing to analyze coastal flooding and sea-level rise scenarios in Aotearoa New Zealand. This approach allows the assessment of both direct impacts (property exposure) and indirect impacts (physical isolation from key amenities) on residents. Indirect impacts, such as isolation and reduced access to resources, have significant adverse effects on well-being, social cohesion, and community resilience. Including indirect impacts in risk assessments dramatically increases the overall population burden, while revealing complex effects on existing inequalities. Our analysis reveals that including indirect impacts increases the overall population burden, but the effect on inequalities varies. These inequalities can be exacerbated or attenuated depending on scale and location, underscoring the need for decision-makers to identify these nuanced distributions and apply context-specific frameworks when determining equitable outcomes. Our findings uncover a substantial number of previously invisible at-risk residents-from 61,000 to 217,000 nationally in a present-day event-and expose a shift in impact distribution toward underserved communities. As indirect risks exacerbate disparities and impede climate adaptation efforts, adopting an inclusive approach that accounts for both direct and indirect risks and their [un]equal distribution is imperative for effective and equitabledecision-making.

Energy Justice as Epistemic Justice

ABSTRACT Energy justice is often conceived of as consisting of distributive, procedural, and recognitional justice. This article adds epistemic justice, which engages with the question of how the exchange of knowledge can be shaped fairly. Energy issues ramify across social worlds, connecting to multiple knowledge systems. The conventional elements of energy justice place specific demands on how different knowledge systems must be accommodated. Epistemic work must be done to bridge epistemological differences and pay due respect to different forms of knowledge. Energy justice should not neglect this epistemic work, and it cannot be assumed that it is sufficient to invite stakeholders to the discussion arena. I argue that fair ways of dealing with knowledge and fair opportunities for citizens to contribute knowledge to energy affairs are crucial to achieving energy justice of any general form. Also, this epistemic justice is not to be seen as yet another pillar of energy justice but a concern that runs through all pillars of energy justice.

Banking service recovery and consumer loyalty: The mediating role of satisfaction

This study aims to prove the effect of justice-based service recovery on satisfaction and its impact on loyalty. The related justices intended are distributive, procedural, and interactive. Also, proving satisfaction as mediated by the Sobel test becomes another purpose. Then, to achieve these purposes, this study employs banking customers in a few areas in West Java (Bandung and Cirebon Cities, as well as the Purwakarta Regency) as the population and samples them by snowball sampling. Fortunately, 230 collected responses exist; hence, the structural equation based on covariance is applicable to examine hypotheses. As a result, this study finds a positive tendency of distributive, procedural, and interactive justice on satisfaction, and distributive justice has a leading influence. A similar sign occurs in the association between satisfaction and loyalty. According to the mediating test, customer satisfaction can mediate the relationship between the three justices and loyalty. Based on these facts, this study recommends that banks compensate the users for the disappointing situation and handle their complaints by providing procedures and responsive and skilled staff to help. Importantly, banks should give the gift as a sign of appreciation for complaints. These actions can encourage banking users to share positive information with their friends, family, and workmates based on their experience.