Background on RFF/EPA workshop on intergen. discounting

<p><b>Background on RFF/EPA workshop on intergen. discounting</b>

Oct 9, 2011 2:13 AM</p><p>Karl Hausker

karl.hausker@gmail.com</p>

<div class="gmail_quote">---------- forwarded message ----------
from: <b class="gmail_sendername">karl hausker</b> <<a href="mailto:karl.hausker@gmail.com">karl.hausker@gmail.com</a>>

date: mon, oct 3, 2011 at 4:31 pm
subject: background on rff/epa workshop on intergen. discounting
to: "johnson, laurie" <<a href="mailto:ljohnson@nrdc.org">ljohnson@nrdc.org</a>>, kristen sheeran <<a href="mailto:ksheeran@ecotrust.org">ksheeran@ecotrust.org</a>>, "<a href="mailto:michael.livermore@nyu.edu">michael.livermore@nyu.edu</a>" <<a href="mailto:michael.livermore@nyu.edu">michael.livermore@nyu.edu</a>>, ruth greenspan bell <<a href="mailto:rbell@wri.org">rbell@wri.org</a>>, scott schang <<a href="mailto:schang@eli.org">schang@eli.org</a>>, rachel cleetus <<a href="mailto:rcleetus@ucsusa.org">rcleetus@ucsusa.org</a>>, jay gulledge <<a href="mailto:gulledgej@pewclimate.org">gulledgej@pewclimate.org</a>>

<div >fyi, description of workshop below. agenda and charge q's attached. were any of you invited? did any of you attend? </div>

<div >i first heard of this from oar staff last week. they reported that a "conceptual agreement" was reached among attendees [who?] that a declining interest rate was appropriate for long time horizons.  exact methodology and numbers not addressed...</div>

<div >as i noted earlier, this could be a foundation for moving away from "central value" of 3% constant. </div>

<div >maybe outcome can be funneled into this "more public" rff event: <a href="http://rff.org/events/pages/the-next-round-of-climate-economics-and-policy-research.aspx" target="_blank">http://rff.org/events/pages/the-next-round-of-climate-economics-and-policy-research.aspx</a>  on oct 27-28.  maybe this outcome could also be communicated by luminaries below directly to sunstein via meeting/letter/call/ponyexpress.</div>

<div >rff workshop on intergenerational discounting</div>

<p > 

date

thursday-friday, september 22-23, 2011</p>

<p>

location

first floor conference center

1616 p st. nw washington, d.c. 20036</p>

<p>

social discounting in the context of policies with time horizons involving multiple generations, such as those addressing climate change, is complicated by at least three factors: (1) the “investment horizon” is significantly longer than what is reflected in observed interest rates used to guide private discounting decisions; (2) future generations without a voice in the current policy process are affected; and (3) compared to shorter time horizons, inter-generational investments involve greater uncertainty. understanding these issues and developing methodologies to address them is of great importance given the potentially large impact they have on estimates of the benefits of policies that affect multiple generations.</p>

<p>

resources for the future (rff) is hosting a two-day workshop to seek advice on how the benefits and costs of regulations should be discounted for projects with long horizons; i.e., for projects that affect future generations.  the panelists listed below will discuss what principles should be used to discount the costs and benefits of regulatory programs over very long horizons.  the specific charge questions to the panelists are attached, as is the agenda for the workshop.</p>

<p>

moderator:</p>

<p>

maureen cropper, senior fellow, resources for the future & distinguished professor of economics, university of maryland, college park</p>

<p>

panelists:

 </p>

<div >kenneth arrow, joan kenney professor of economics and professor of operations research, emeritus and chp/pcor fellow, stanford university christian gollier, director, toulouse school of economics </div>

<div >ben groom, senior lecturer in economics, university of london </div>

<div >geoffrey heal, donald c. waite iii professor of social enterprise, columbia business school </div>

<div >richard newell, gendell associate professor of energy and environmental economics, duke university </div>

<div >william nordhaus, sterling professor of economics, yale university </div>

<div >robert pindyck, bank of tokyo-mitsubishi ltd professor in finance and economics,  mit </div>

<div >billy pizer, faculty fellow, nicholas institute for environmental policy solutions, duke university </div>

<div >paul portney, professor of economics, university of arizona </div>

<div >thomas sterner, professor, department of economics, gothenburg university </div>

<div >richard tol, research professor, economic and social research institute, dublin </div>

<div >martin weitzman, professor of economics, harvard university</div>

<p > 

financial support for the workshop is provided by the u.s. environmental protection agency

 </p>

<p > 

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<div>karl hausker</div>

Background on RFF/EPA workshop on intergen. discounting

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