福利经济学（英语：welfare economics）是对经济体系的规范性分析，即经济运行中什幺是“对”、什幺是“错”等问题的研究。

1. 人类行为的自利假设。
2. 以效用为基础的社会成就评价准则。

福利经济学在简单的自利人性的假设下，设定评价人类行为效率或效益的唯一标准是效用，它以如此简单的联系来评价和认识社会经济现象，确认人必定以自利的行为来谋求效用或福利的最大化。

Welfare economics is a branch of economics that uses microeconomic techniques to evaluate well-being (welfare) at the aggregate (economy-wide) level. A typical methodology begins with the derivation (or assumption) of a social welfare function, which can then be used to rank economically feasible allocations of resources in terms of the social welfare they entail. Such functions typically include measures of economic efficiency and equity, though more recent attempts to quantify social welfare have included a broader range of measures including economic freedom (as in the capability approach).