Sustainable recursive social welfare functions

Geir Asheim, Tapan Mitra and Bertil Tungodden

No 18/2006, Memorandum from Oslo University, Department of Economics

Abstract: Koopmans’s (Econometrica 28, 287–309) axiomatization of discounted utilitarianism is based on seemingly compelling conditions, yet this criterion leads to hard-to-justify outcomes. The present analysis considers a class of sustainable recursive social welfare functions within Koopmans’s general framework. This class is axiomatized by means of a weak new equity condition (“Hammond Equity for the Future”) and general existence is established. Any member of the class satisfies the key axioms of Chichilnisky’s (Social Choice and Welfare 13, 231–257) “sustainable preferences”. The analysis singles out one of Koopmans’s original conditions as particularly questionable from an ethical perspective.

Keywords: Intergenerational justice; sustainability; discounted utilitarianism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 D71 Q01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2006-07-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cba and nep-cdm
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Related works:
Chapter: Sustainable Recursive Social Welfare Functions (2016)
Journal Article: Sustainable recursive social welfare functions (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:osloec:2006_018

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