Graham, Hilary Mavis orcid.org/0000-0001-7949-6819, Bland, John Martin orcid.org/0000-0002-9525-5334, Cookson, Richard Andrew orcid.org/0000-0003-0052-996X et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Do people favour policies that protect future generations? Evidence from a British survey of adults. Journal of Social Policy. pp. 423-445. ISSN 1469-7823
Abstract
Long-range temporal choices are built into contemporary policy-making, with policy decisions having consequences that play out across generations. Decisions are made on behalf of the public who are assumed to give much greater weight to their welfare than to the welfare of future generations. The paper investigates this assumption. It briefly discusses evidence from sociological and economic studies before reporting the findings of a British survey of people's intergenerational time preferences based on a representative sample of nearly 10,000 respondents. Questions focused on two sets of policies: (i) health policies to save lives and (ii) environmental policies to protect against floods that would severely damage homes, businesses and other infrastructure. For both sets of policies, participants were offered a choice of three policy options, each bringing greater or lesser benefits to their, their children's and their grandchildren's generations. For both saving lives and protecting against floods, only a minority selected the policy that most benefited their generation; the majority selected policies bringing equal or greater benefits to future generations. Our study raises questions about a core assumption of standard economic evaluation, pointing instead to concern for future generations as a value that many people hold in common.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2017. Nominated for the Cambridge University Press Awards for Excellence in Social Policy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Health Sciences (York) The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Centre for Health Economics (York) The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Environment and Geography (York) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (ESRC) ES/L003015/1 |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 20 Jan 2017 10:41 |
Last Modified: | 08 Feb 2025 00:21 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279416000945 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0047279416000945 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:110932 |
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