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Decomposing the social discount rate

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  • Scarborough, Helen

Abstract

Recent modelling of the costs and benefits of climate change has renewed debate surrounding assumptions regarding the social discount rate in analysing the impacts of environmental change. Previous literature segments the social discount rate into being influenced by two key factors; the rate of pure time preference and the elasticity of marginal utility of future consumption. These components of the social discount rate reinforce the linkages between the choice of social discount rate and intergenerational distribution. In an extension of previous work by the author on intergenerational distributional preferences, this paper discusses the relationship between intergenerational equity and the social discount rate. The work has significant policy implications given the sensitivity of Cost Benefit Analysis outcomes to assumptions regarding the social discount rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Scarborough, Helen, 2010. "Decomposing the social discount rate," 2010 Conference (54th), February 10-12, 2010, Adelaide, Australia 59156, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aare10:59156
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.59156
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Courard-Hauri, David & Klimas, Christie A. & Parrish, Conor, 2020. "An analysis of the long-term social discount rate and the valuation of large environmental losses using non-monetary tradeoffs," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Michalis Skourtos & Dimitris Damigos & Areti Kontogianni & Christos Tourkolias & Alistair Hunt, 2019. "Embedding Preference Uncertainty for Environmental Amenities in Climate Change Economic Assessments: A “Random” Step Forward," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-22, October.
    3. Kaushal, Kevin R. & Navrud, Ståle, 2018. "Global Biodiversity Costs of Climate Change. Improving the damage assessment of species loss in Integrated Assessment Models," Working Paper Series 4-2018, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business.

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