US Benefit-Cost Analysis Requires Revision

A letter published in the journal Science makes the case for updating benefit-cost analysis to follow the best available data and methods for determining discount rates.

View Journal Article

Date

May 25, 2023

Authors

Peter H. Howard, Max Sarinsky, Michael Bauer, Caroline Cecot, Maureen L. Cropper, Moritz Drupp, Mark Freeman, Kenneth T. Gillingham, Christian Gollier, Ben Groom, Qingran Li, Michael Livermore, Richard G. Newell, William Pizer, Brian C. Prest, Glenn Rudebusch, Thomas Sterner, and Gernot Wagner

Publication

Journal Article in Science

Reading time

1 minute

Click on the link above to read the letter.

Topics

Authors

Peter H. Howard

New York University School of Law

Max Sarinsky

New York University School of Law

Michael Bauer

Universität Hamburg

Caroline Cecot

George Mason University

Maureen L. Cropper

Senior Fellow

Maureen Cropper is a a senior fellow at RFF, professor of economics at the University of Maryland, a member of the Board of Directors at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Moritz Drupp

Universität Hamburg

Mark Freeman

University of York

Kenneth T. Gillingham

Yale University

Christian Gollier

University of Toulouse-Capitole

Ben Groom

University of Exeter

Qingran Li

Clarkson University

Michael Livermore

University of Virginia

Richard G. Newell

President and CEO, Resources for the Future

Dr. Richard G. Newell is the President and CEO of Resources for the Future. From 2009 to 2011, he served as the administrator of the US Energy Information Administration, the agency responsible for official US government energy statistics and analysis.

William A. Pizer

Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement; Incoming President and CEO

Billy Pizer is Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement at RFF.

Brian C. Prest

Fellow; Director, Social Cost of Carbon Initiative

Brian Prest is an economist and fellow at Resources for the Future specializing in climate change, oil and gas, and energy economics.

Glenn Rudebusch

The Brookings Institution

Thomas Sterner

University Fellow

Thomas Sterner is a university fellow at RFF. His work is focused on the design of policy instruments to deal with resource and environmental problems.

Gernot Wagner

Columbia University

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