We opened this volume with four examples of work in economics that reflects ethical views. If this book has served its purpose as an analysis of the ethical presuppositions of economics and as an introduction to a range of ethical concepts and theories, it should make the ethical commitments implicit in these cases easier to understand, and it should suggest how they might be influenced by a broader and more self-conscious ethical perspective. We have also – especially in the last two chapters – said a bit about tools that economists have developed that may be of use to moral philosophers, and we wish also to say something about ways in which economists and philosophers can together help to address some of the daunting problems facing the nations of the world.

Accordingly, in the concluding chapters we shall revisit the four cases discussed in Chapters 2 and 3 and offer some remarks about ways in which grasping both ethics and economics might help in identifying good policies and principles for citizens and governments to adopt. In Chapter 15 we shall return to the two examples of normative economics discussed in Chapter 2 – the defense of school vouchers and Larry Summers's proposal that the World Bank encourage polluting industries to locate in poor countries. In particular, Chapter 15 will show how the discussions in Parts II and III of welfare and of nonwelfarist evaluative considerations help one to understand and appraise these arguments.