Abstract
A social welfare function treating all generations equally is derived from a set of axioms that allow for preferences for catastrophe avoidance or risk equity. Implications for the case where there is a risk of world extinction are studied. We show that substantial time discounting can arise from the planner’s taste for catastrophe avoidance, even if the probability of the world ending is infinitesimally small.
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We wish to thank Marc Fleurbaey, Thibault Gajdos, two anonymous referees and an associate editor for many valuable comments.
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Bommier, A., Zuber, S. Can preferences for catastrophe avoidance reconcile social discounting with intergenerational equity?. Soc Choice Welfare 31, 415–434 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-007-0292-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00355-007-0292-6