On the Value of Life in Rich and Poor Countries and Distributional Weights Beyond Utilitarianism

Olof Johansson-Stenman ()

Environmental & Resource Economics, 2000, vol. 17, issue 3, 299-310

Abstract: This paper discusses the use ofdistributional weights in CBA based on a generalBergson-Samuelson SWF. In particular it illustratessome consequences of applying a SWF characterized byconstant inequality aversion (which includes classicalutilitarianism as a special case), together with aconstant relative risk aversion utility function, whencalculating the damage costs of global warming. Itextends and clarifies earlier unintuitive results, andemphasizes that utility must be seen as fully cardinalin terms of levels in this context. In the specialcase of utilitarianism, on the other hand, it issufficient to be able to make interpersonalcomparisons of utility changes. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000

Keywords: cost-benefit analysis; distributional weights; global warming; utility transformations; welfare theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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DOI: 10.1023/A:1026428314806

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