Arguments about the appropriate discount rate often start by assuming a Utilitarian social welfare function with isoelastic utility, in which the consumption discount rate is a function of the (constant) elasticity of marginal utility along with the (much discussed) utility discount rate. In...

Years on from the 1987 Brundtland Report, it has become clear that formidable challenges confront policy makers who have publicly stated their commitment to the goal of sustainable development. This text provides an account of the progress made in fleshing out these issues