Discussion Paper
The social discount rate
Abstract: In welfare theory it is standard to pick the consumption stream that maximizes the welfare of the representative agent. We argue against this position, and show that a benevolent social planner will generally place a greater weight on future consumption than does the representative agent.
Keywords: Welfare;
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File(s): File format is application/pdf http://minneapolisfed.org/research/common/pub_detail.cfm?pb_autonum_id=837
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Bibliographic Information
Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Part of Series: Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics
Publication Date: 2001
Number: 137