Discounting and sustainable development
Adjusting the rate, abandoning the process, or extending the approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19499697 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tom Crowards (a Centre for Economic and Social Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE), University of East Anglia and University College of London, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1997 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 28-39 |
| Publication date | 1997-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-4509 • E-ISSN: 1745-2627 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13504509709469939 |
| OpenAlex | W2089826189 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 39 |
Discounting of future costs and benefits is an integral feature of economic appraisal, and one associated with considerable controversy. The fundamental objection to discounting has been the apparent disregard for future as compared to current concerns. Such intergenerational equity issues form the basis of the call for sustainable development, and the relatively recent focus on sustainability has renewed the focus on the role of discounting. A number of alterations have been proposed to reduce the differential between present and future concerns which results from discounting, the most radical of which is the abandoning of discounting altogether. This extreme is rejected, however, on the grounds of equity with regard to the current generation, and the potential for reduced welfare for both current and future generations. It is argued that sustainability can best be incorporated into decision making by applying physical sustainability constraints to otherwise economic efficiency-derived selection criteria. This compromise can ensure the maintenance of natural capital for the future whilst not constricting economic progress which can benefit both present and future generations
Compromise · Cost–benefit analysis · Discounting · Economics · Intergenerational equity · Microeconomics · Political science · Public economics · Sustainability · Time preference · Climate Change Policy and Economics · Computer Science · Economic and Environmental Valuation · Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy
Natural Capital and Sustainable Development
Endangered Species and Uncertainty
‘Sustainable Development’
The sustainability of resources versus the sustainability of use
Double CO2 and beyond
Economic implications of intergenerational equity for biodiversity conservation
Operationalizing sustainable development
Cost-benefit analyses and environmental policy
Sustainable investment and resource use
Intergenerational equity and environmental decisions
The limits to substitution
Wilderness development decisions and the Krutilla-Fisher model
The growth illusion
Economic analysis of agricultural projects
Environmental Sustainability and Cost-Benefit Analysis
The Great Environmental Values Debate
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,08 |
| Citation span | 2002 - 2002 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |