Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1504/IJSD.2003.004226 |
| Title (Primary) | Discounting: reflections on the scientific and ethical dimensions of the debate |
| Author | Unnerstall, H. |
| Source Titel | International Journal of Sustainable Development |
| Year | 2003 |
| Department | UPR; OEKUS |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Page From | 54 |
| Page To | 69 |
| Language | englisch |
| Keywords | discounting; empirical basis of discounting; epistemology of discounting; intergenerational justice; intragenerational justice; intertemporal justice; meta-evaluation. |
| Abstract | Discounting is still a highly contested element of cost–benefit analysis. From an epistemological point of view, three levels of arguments must be distinguished: the empirical, the conceptual and the ethical level. On the conceptual level, discounting turns out to be a hypothesis that has to be justified empirically. This approach requires a method for a direct (utility-)evaluation of future cash-flows in order to prove that discounting correctly represents changes of utility-values in time. Reacting on ethical criticism, economic theory tends to draw a sharp line between intra- and inter-generational discounting. This is ethically unacceptable as the composition of any generation is arbitrary. Therefore, many intra-generational problems can be reformulated as inter-generational problems and vice versa. There can be only one consistent theory of inter-temporal justice.
|
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=5258 |
| Unnerstall, H. (2003): Discounting: reflections on the scientific and ethical dimensions of the debate Int. J. Sustain. Dev. 6 (1), 54 - 69 10.1504/IJSD.2003.004226 |
|