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A Utilitarian Notion of Responsibility for SustainabilityJoachim FünfgeltLeuphana University of Lüneburg - Dept. of Sustainability Sciences and Dept. of Economics Stefan BaumgärtnerLeuphana University of Lüneburg - Dept. of Sustainability Sciences and Dept. of Economics March 16, 2012 University of Lüneburg Working Paper Series in Economics No. 234 Abstract: We develop and formalize a utilitarian notion of responsibility for sustainability which is inspired by Singer‟s (1972) principle and the Brundtland Commission‟s notion of sustainability (WCED 1987). We relate this notion of responsibility to established criteria for the assessment of intertemporal societal choice, namely Pareto-efficiency, (discounted) utilitarian welfare maximization, and Brundtland-sustainability. Using a two-generations-resource-model, we find the following. Sustainability and responsibility for sustainability are equivalent if and only if sustainability is feasible. If it is not, there still exists a responsible allocation which is also Pareto-efficient. Further, the utilitarian welfare maximum without discounting always fulfills the criterion of responsibility. Discounting may be responsible to a certain extent if sustainability is feasible. If sustainability is not feasible, discounting is not responsible.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 19 Keywords: basic needs, Brundtland, discounting, ethics, natural resources, Pareto efficiency, responsibility, Singer, sustainability, utilitarianism JEL Classification: D63, D90, Q1, G56 working papers seriesDate posted: March 22, 2012Suggested CitationContact Information
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