Generous Sustainability

25 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2014

See all articles by Reyer Gerlagh

Reyer Gerlagh

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management

Date Written: November 30, 2014

Abstract

I define “generous sustainability” as a combination of two conditions: neither instantaneous maximin income nor attainable maximin income should decrease over time. I provide a formal definition and study applications to an AK economy, a Ramsey economy, and a Climate Economy. Generosity is shown to impose substantially stronger conditions on current actions compared to existing sustainability concepts. As a rule of thumb, generosity requires that GHG emissions are limited to levels that do not cause irreversible system damages if some group of people systematically value these systems.

Keywords: intertemporal choice and growth, intergenerational distribution, sustainable development

JEL Classification: D630, D900, Q010

Suggested Citation

Gerlagh, Reyer, Generous Sustainability (November 30, 2014). CESifo Working Paper Series No. 5092, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2536294 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2536294

Reyer Gerlagh (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

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