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On the Uses of Benefit-Cost Reasoning in Choosing Policy Toward Global Climate Change

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  • David F. Bradford

Abstract

In the debate about the correct discount rate to use in evaluating policy with regard to climate change, which covers the entire world and extends for centuries, the conditions for deploying benefit-cost analysis are often overlooked. Where (a) income distributional effects of policies are large and (b) one cannot take for granted compensating adjustment in other policy instruments affecting distribution, simple aggregation of gains and losses is unlikely to provide a convincing basis for action, as an ethical matter, or predictor of policy, as a political matter.

Suggested Citation

  • David F. Bradford, 1997. "On the Uses of Benefit-Cost Reasoning in Choosing Policy Toward Global Climate Change," NBER Working Papers 5920, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:5920
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    Cited by:

    1. Marc Vielle & Alain L. Bernard, 1998. "Un exemple d'utilisation : le coût de politiques de réduction des gaz à effet de serre," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 136(5), pages 33-48.
    2. Hans-Werner Sinn, 1999. "Inflation and Welfare: Comment on Robert Lucas," NBER Working Papers 6979, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Erling Røed Larsen, 2002. "The Political Economy of Global Warming. From Data to Decisions," Discussion Papers 322, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    4. Klaus Keller & Kelvin Tan & Francois M.M. Morel & David F. Bradford, 1999. "Preserving the Ocean Circulation: Implications for Climate Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 199, CESifo.
    5. Prajit Dutta & Roy Radner, 2006. "Population growth and technological change in a global warming model," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 29(2), pages 251-270, October.
    6. Turró, Mateu & Penyalver, Domingo, 2019. "Hunting white elephants on the road. A practical procedure to detect harmful projects of transport infrastructure," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 3-20.
    7. J.K. Horowitz, 2002. "Preferences in the Future," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(3), pages 241-258, March.
    8. Penyalver, Domingo & Turró, Mateu & Zavala-Rojas, Diana, 2018. "Intergenerational perception of the utility of major transport projects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 97-111.
    9. Louis Kaplow, 2006. "Discounting Dollars, Discounting Lives: Intergenerational Distributive Justice and Efficiency," NBER Working Papers 12239, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

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