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The Rising Cost of Climate Change: Evidence from the Bond Market

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  • Michael D. Bauer
  • Glenn D. Rudebusch

Abstract

The level of the social discount rate (SDR) is a crucial factor for evaluating the costs of climate change. We demonstrate that the equilibrium or steady-state real interest rate is the fundamental anchor for market-based SDRs. Much recent research has pointed to a decrease in the equilibrium real interest rate since the 1990s. Using new estimates of this decline, we document a pronounced downward shift in the entire term structure of SDRs in recent decades. This lower new normal for interest rates and SDRs has substantially boosted the estimated economic loss from climate change and the social cost of carbon.

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  • Michael D. Bauer & Glenn D. Rudebusch, 2020. "The Rising Cost of Climate Change: Evidence from the Bond Market," Working Paper Series 2020-25, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedfwp:88357
    DOI: 10.24148/wp2020-25
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    Cited by:

    1. Mongelli, Francesco Paolo & Pointner, Wolfgang & van den End, Jan Willem, 2022. "The effects of climate change on the natural rate of interest: a critical survey," Working Paper Series 2744, European Central Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social discount rate; cost of carbon; natural rate of interest; r-star;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate

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