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Climate change, catastrophes and Dismal Theorem: a critical review
[Klimawandel, Katastrophen und das „Dismal Theorem“: eine kritische Überprüfung]

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  • Andrea Rampa

    (Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth (IRCrES-CNR)
    Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies (SEEDS) – Research Centre)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the main studies about catastrophic scenarios and environmental policy in the presence of natural disaster risks related to climate change. We investigate how literature has analysed these topics employing extreme case scenarios modelling. Throughout this review we want to investigate how related literature has evolved in recent years and how the historical evolution of climate change issues has induced academic studies (and vice versa), and why it has become a crucial topic for regional science, not only regarding resilience analysis. We focus on two main critiques: (i) the intergenerational equity between present and future generations (Stern 2006); (ii) the time preference rate linked to intergenerational equity, from the use of fat tail and the consequent debate around the Dismal Theorem (Weitzman 2009) to the debate around the usefulness of the Expected Utility theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Rampa, 2020. "Climate change, catastrophes and Dismal Theorem: a critical review [Klimawandel, Katastrophen und das „Dismal Theorem“: eine kritische Überprüfung]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 40(2), pages 113-136, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jahrfr:v:40:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s10037-020-00140-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10037-020-00140-9
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    2. Ramiro de Ávila Peres, 2024. "Social Discounting and the Tragedy of the Horizon: from the Stern-Nordhaus debate to target-consistent prices," Working Papers Series 593, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Catastrophe; Uncertainty; Environmental policy; Risk; Natural disaster;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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