PURE TIME PREFERENCE IN INTERTEMPORAL WELFARE ECONOMICS

被引:12
|
作者
Kelleher, J. Paul [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Wisconsin, Med Sci Ctr, 1300 Univ Ave,Room 1430, Madison, WI 53706 USA
关键词
Social discount rate; discounted utilitarianism; time preference; future generations; intergenerational equity; CLIMATE-CHANGE;
D O I
10.1017/S0266267117000074
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
Several areas of welfare economics seek to evaluate states of affairs as a function of interpersonally comparable individual utilities. The aim is to map each state of affairs onto a vector of individual utilities, and then to produce an ordering of these vectors that can be represented by a mathematical function assigning a real number to each. When this approach is used in intertemporal contexts, a central theoretical question concerns the rate of pure time preference, i.e. the evaluative weight to be applied to utility coming at different times. This article criticizes the standard philosophical account of pure time preference, arguing that it ascribes to economists a methodological commitment they need not accept. The article then evaluates three further objections to pure time preference, concluding that it might still be defensible under certain circumstances. I close by articulating a final argument that, if sound, would constitute a decisive objection to pure time preference as it currently figures in much intertemporal welfare economics.
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页码:441 / 473
页数:33
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