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Appropriate discounting leads to forward‐looking ecosystem management
Author(s) -
Carpenter Stephen R.,
Brock William A.,
Ludwig Donald
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
ecological research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1440-1703
pISSN - 0912-3814
DOI - 10.1007/s11284-006-0072-2
Subject(s) - discounting , economics , time preference , ecology , ecosystem , uncertainty , dynamic inconsistency , natural resource economics , environmental resource management , microeconomics , mathematics , biology , finance , statistics
Ecology and economics share many intellectual challenges, such as uncertainty about future system dynamics. An appropriate consideration of our uncertainty about our economic future leads to discounting of benefits of ecosystem services at the lowest possible rate over long time horizons. This more realistic discounting supports much more conservative and sustainable decisions than conventional discounting.