Discounting, risk and inequality: A general approach

Marc Fleurbaey, Stéphane Zuber

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

The common practice consists in using a unique value of the discount rate for all public investments. Endorsing a social welfare approach to discounting, we show how different public investments should be discounted depending on: the risk on the returns on investment, the systematic risk on aggregate consumption, the distribution of gains and losses, and inequality. We also study the limit value of the discount rate for very long term investments. We highlight the type of information that is needed about long-term scenarios in order to evaluate investments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)34-49
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Public Economics
Volume128
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Finance
  • Economics and Econometrics

Keywords

  • Inequality
  • Risk
  • Social discounting

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Discounting, risk and inequality: A general approach'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this