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Discounting and Climate Change Policy

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Author Info
Larry Karp (University of California, Berkeley and Giannini Foundation)
Yacov Tsur (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

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Abstract

A constant social discount rate cannot reflect both a reasonable opportunity cost of public funds and an ethically defensible concern for generations in the distant future. We use a model of hyperbolic discounting that achieves both goals. We imbed this discounting model in a simple climate change model to calculate "constant equivalent discount rates" and plausible levels of expenditure to control climate change. We compare these results to discounting assumptions and policy recommendations in the Stern Review on Climate Change.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley in its series Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series with number 1038.

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Date of creation: 17 May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:cdl:agrebk:1038

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Related research
Keywords: discounting; climate change modeling; Stern Review; Markov Perfect Equilibria;

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Karp, Larry, 2005. "Global warming and hyperbolic discounting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(2-3), pages 261-282, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Larry Karp & Yacov Tsur, 2007. "Climate Policy When the Distant Future Matters: Catastrophic Events with Hyperbolic Discounting," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series 1037, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. 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.
  5. Robert J. Barro, 1999. "Ramsey Meets Laibson In The Neoclassical Growth Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 114(4), pages 1125-1152, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Tsur, Yacov & Zemel, Amos, 1996. "Accounting for global warming risks: Resource management under event uncertainty," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 20(6-7), pages 1289-1305. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Larry Karp & Jinhua Zhao, 2008. "A Proposal for the Design of the Successor to the Kyoto Protocol," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series 1065, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
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