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Intergenerational Discounting and Inequality

Author

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  • Frikk Nesje
  • Paolo G. Piacquadio
  • Paolo Giovanni Piacquadio

Abstract

We study all theories of justice that disentangle ethical views on intergenerational discounting and intergenerational inequality. Each “modular” social welfare function is uniquely identified by a time-discounting function—capturing attitudes toward time—and an aggregator function— capturing attitudes toward inequality. Our axiomatic characterization identifies the properties and establishes the limits of disentangling discounting and inequality. Our theories include as special cases the most common welfare criteria adopted in the literature, while uncovering unexplored (and yet tractable) families of alternative criteria.

Suggested Citation

  • Frikk Nesje & Paolo G. Piacquadio & Paolo Giovanni Piacquadio, 2025. "Intergenerational Discounting and Inequality," CESifo Working Paper Series 11630, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11630
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational justice; discounting; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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