(a) Social welfare functions embody a normative conception of the relative importance of equity and efficiency'. With the aid of diagrams, illustrate and explain this proposition.
(b) As tools of real-world policy analysis, social welfare functions have been subjected to severe criticism'. Discuss with extensive reference to the literature on theoretical welfare economics, including Arrow's famous Impossibility Theorem.
(a) and (b) carry equal marks.
(a) and (b) should each be 1,000 words in length.