The Cross-Sectional Implications of the Social Discount Rate

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Eden, Maya
• 署名单位: Brandeis University; University of Oxford; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: ECONOMETRICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0012-9682
• DOI: 10.3982/ECTA20844
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 2065-2088
• 关键词: time preference; INEQUALITY; POLICY

摘要

In this paper, I consider two normative questions: (1) how should policymakers approach tradeoffs that involve different age groups, and (2) at what rate should policymakers discount the consumption of future generations? I demonstrate that, under standard assumptions, these two questions are equivalent: caring more about the future means caring less about the elderly. Even small differences between the social discount rate and the market interest rate can have significant quantitative implications for the relative value placed on the consumption of different age groups.