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Climate Policies Deserve a Negative Discount Rate

Author

Listed:
  • Marc Fleurbaey

    (Woodrow Wilson School and Center for Human Values - Princeton University)

  • Stéphane Zuber

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

We defend a methodology of discounting, for the evaluation of the long-term effects of climate policies, which relies on a social welfare objective, against the view that the market rate of return should be used for that purpose. We also show that in the long run, the discount rate for such policies should focus on the worst-case scenario for the most disadvantaged populations. As a consequence, it is likely that the appropriate discount rate for climate policies should be negative, implying a high priority for the future.
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Suggested Citation

  • Marc Fleurbaey & Stéphane Zuber, 2013. "Climate Policies Deserve a Negative Discount Rate," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-01048583, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:hal-01048583
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marc Fleurbaey, 2010. "Assessing Risky Social Situations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(4), pages 649-680, August.
    2. Martin L. Weitzman, 2009. "On Modeling and Interpreting the Economics of Catastrophic Climate Change," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 1-19, February.
    3. Gollier, Christian, 2002. "Discounting an uncertain future," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(2), pages 149-166, August.
    4. John C. Harsanyi, 1955. "Cardinal Welfare, Individualistic Ethics, and Interpersonal Comparisons of Utility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(4), pages 309-309.
    5. Weitzman, Martin L., 1998. "Why the Far-Distant Future Should Be Discounted at Its Lowest Possible Rate," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 201-208, November.
    6. William D. Nordhaus, 2007. "A Review of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 45(3), pages 686-702, September.
    7. Stern,Nicholas, 2007. "The Economics of Climate Change," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700801, September.
    8. Schelling, Thomas C, 1995. "Intergenerational discounting," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 395-401.
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. A negative discount rate for climate policy?
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-10-01 19:55:00

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    Cited by:

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    2. Tol, Richard S. J., 2011. "Modified Ramsey Discounting for Climate Change," Papers WP368, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    3. Frédéric Gonand, 2019. "Inégalité intergénérationnelle et recyclage d’une taxe carbone," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 70(3), pages 411-440.
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    9. Jean-Marc Bonnisseau & Alain Chateauneuf & Jean-Pierre Drugeon, 2023. "On Future Allocations of Scarce Resources without Explicit Discounting Factors," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 23004, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    10. Daniel A. Farber, 2015. "Gambling over Growth: Economic Uncertainty, Discounting, and Regulatory Policy," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(S2), pages 509-528.
    11. Fleurbaey, Marc & Zuber, Stéphane, 2015. "Discounting, risk and inequality: A general approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 34-49.
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