How Much Does the Far Future Matter? A Hierarchical Bayesian Analysis of the Public's Willingness to Mitigate Ecological Impacts of Climate Change
- 1 September 2003
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of the American Statistical Association
- Vol. 98 (463) , 533-544
- https://doi.org/10.1198/016214503000000341
Abstract
How much does the far future matter? This question lies at the heart of many important environmental policy issues, such as global climate change, biodiversity loss, and the disposal of radioactive waste. Although philosophers, experts, and others offer their viewpoints on this deep question, the solution to many environmental problems lies in the willingness of the public to bear significant costs now to make the far future a better place. Short of national plebiscites, the only way to assess the public's willingness to mitigate impacts in the far future is to ask them. Using a unique set of survey data in which respondents were provided with sets of scenarios describing different amounts of forest loss due to climate change, along with associated mitigation methods and costs, we can infer the respondents' willingness to bear additional costs to mitigate future ecological impacts of climate change. The survey also varied the timing of the impacts, which allows us to assess how the willingness to mitigate...Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
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