There is no scientific basis for arguing that an increase in the efficiency of resource allocation will increase a country's social welfare?
Comment!
A reasonable answer.
Since improvements in resource allocation will increase the incomes of some people and reduce the incomes of others, an improvement in social welfare will arise only of the incomes of the losers are restored by appropriate reductions of the incomes of the gainers. We can agree that the effect would be to increase everyone's income if this redistribution is correct. Social welfare will not increase if some people lose because a weighting of individuals would need to be constructed and the appropriately weighted income effects summed to produce a positive total. We can say that social welfare can be improved in the sense that everyone could be made better off and will be improved if an appropriate redistribution of income is in fact made,