Pareto optimality

Pareto optimality

a theoretical condition of the economy in which the distribution of economic welfare cannot be improved for any one individual without reducing the welfare of one or more other individuals. Thus a ‘Pareto improvement’ occurs when a reallocation of resources renders one or more persons better off. In any situation where more than one optimum is possible, Pareto optimality cannot be established.
Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000
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