what are the assumptions of welfare economics 
welfare economics seeks to evaluate how economic policies affect the well being of the community as a consequence it is generally based on a lot of assumptions that include above all taking individual preferences as a given who is the founder of welfare economics many different economists have been credited for their contributions to welfare economics neoclassical economists alfred marshall vilfredo pareto and arthur c pigou played a key role in its conception however it s also true that some of the main ideas behind welfare economics can be traced all the way back to the theories of adam smith and jeremy bentham 