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Avoiding extinction: equal treatment of the present and the future

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Author Info
Chichilnisky, Graciela

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Abstract

Equal treatment for the present and the future was required in two axioms introduced in the articles by Chichilnisky of the years 1996 and 1997. These articles provide a characterization of the decision criterion that satisfies the axioms and shows that the two axioms are equivalent to physical limits in the long-run future. The author proves that maximizing discounted utility with a long-run survival constraint is equivalent to maximizing a criterion that treats equally the present and the future. The equal treatment axioms are therefore the essence of sustainable development. The weight given to the long-run future is here identified with the marginal utility of the environmental asset along a path that narrowly misses extinction. An existence theorem is also provided for optimizing according to the welfare criterion that treats equally the present and the future. The author shows that no prior welfare criteria satisfy the axioms for sustainable development introduced in her article of the year 1996. --

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Kiel Institute for the World Economy in its journal Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal.

Volume (Year): 3 (2009)
Issue (Month): 32 ()
Pages: 1-25
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Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifweej:200932

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Related research
Keywords: Sustainable development; sustainable preferences; axioms for sustainable development; long-run discounting; dictatorship of the present and the future; extinction; equal treatment for the present and the future; long-run optimization;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Chichilnisky, Graciela, 1982. "Social Aggregation Rules and Continuity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 337-52, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Loewenstein, George & Thaler, Richard H, 1989. "Intertemporal Choice," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 181-93, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Kalman, P.J., 1979. "Comparative statics and dynamics of optimal choice models in Hilbert spaces," MPRA Paper 8001, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Beltratti, Andrea & Heal, Geoffrey, 1994. "The environment and the long run: A comparison of different criteria," MPRA Paper 7907, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Zhou, Yuqing, 1998. "Smooth infinite economies," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 27-42, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Krautkraemer, Jeffrey A, 1985. "Optimal Growth, Resource Amenities, and the Preservation of Natural Environments," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(1), pages 153-70, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Andrea Beltratti & Graciela Chichilnisky & Geoffrey Heal, 1993. "Sustainable Growth and the Green Golden Rule," NBER Working Papers 4430, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Heal, Geoffrey & Beltratti, Andrea, 1995. "The Green Golden Rule," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 175-179, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Asheim, Geir B, 1988. "Rawlsian Intergenerational Justice as a Markov-Perfect Equilibrium in a Resource Technology," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(3), pages 469-83, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Chichilnisky, Graciela, 2000. "An axiomatic approach to choice under uncertainty with catastrophic risks," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 221-231, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Cropper, Maureen L & Aydede, Sema K & Portney, Paul R, 1994. "Preferences for Life Saving Programs: How the Public Discounts Time and Age," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 243-65, May.
  12. Chichilnisky, Graciela, 1977. "Nonlinear functional analysis and optimal economic growth," MPRA Paper 7990, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  13. Chichilnisky, Graciela & Belratti, Andrea & Heal, Geoffrey, 1998. "Uncertain future preferences and conservation," MPRA Paper 7912, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-12-2.

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