Abstract
A Bentham-Rawls welfare function is the weighted sum of the net present welfare (Bentham) and the welfare of the worst-off generation (Rawls). If utility is non-decreasing over time, optimal climate policy is more stringent in the near-term under the Bentham criterion than under the Bentham-Rawls criterion. If utility is decreasing, Bentham-Rawls abatement is higher. If there is a chance of decreasing utility, Bentham-Rawls optimal climate policy is probably less stringent than Bentham policy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 424-428 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Economics Letters |
Volume | 118 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2013 |
Keywords
- Bentham-Rawls criterion
- Climate policy
- Social cost of carbon