| Sumario: | The role of benefit-cost analysis in addressing the sustainability debate is discussed. Several issues within the sustainability debate are considered: concerns regarding intergenerational equity, including the appropriate discount rate for projects with environmental consequences; implications for burdens on future generations; and the moral basis for benefit-cost analysis. It is argued that the correct discount rate for all such projects is the social rate of time preference and that suggestions for using lower discount rates result from trying to prevent inequities by adjusting prices. In addition, it is contended that benefit-cost analysis can play a useful part in offering information to decision makers, who will ultimately face resource allocation issues as they seek to implement policies promoting sustainability.
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