Background
Discounting the future is a crucial concept in economics that reflects the tendency to value present consumption or receipts more than future ones. This inclination is driven primarily by impatience, psychological time preference, and various other economic considerations.
Historical Context
The idea of discounting future values dates back to early theories of interest and time preference. Notably, the concept was ingrained in the works of early economists such as John Rae, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, and later formalized by John Maynard Keynes. Over time, this notion has played a vital role in numerous areas of economics, including investment appraisal, environmental economics, and intertemporal choices.
Definitions and Concepts
Discounting the future involves calculating the present value of a future amount of money or stream of cash flows, reflecting the preference for immediate consumption over future consumption, all other things being equal. In essence, it applies a discount rate to future financial receipts or expenses to determine their present equivalent.
Several factors contribute to why future values are discounted:
- Pure Time Preference: This stems from basic human impatience, where immediate rewards or consumption are preferred over future ones.
- Risk and Uncertainty: The prospect that the promised future payment may not be fulfilled as planned.
- Mortality and Opportunity: The recipient’s potential incapacity to enjoy the future receipt due to unforeseen events, including death.
- Diminishing Marginal Utility: As individual or societal wealth increases, the addition of a future sum yields less utility or satisfaction than an immediate equivalent.
Major Analytical Frameworks
Classical Economics
Classical economists generally focused on production, real goods, and values rather than intertemporal allocation directly.
Neoclassical Economics
Neoclassical economics enhances the marginal approach, viewing discounting in terms of utility maximization over time. The present value of future cash flows considers individuals’ or companies’ preference for liquidity and consumption smoothing over periods.
Keynesian Economics
Within a Keynesian framework, discounting the future might intersect with discussions on consumption, savings behavior, interest rates, and investment. Keynes posited that preferences for liquidity play a significant role in determining interest rates and economic equilibrium.
Marxian Economics
Marxian economics typically emphasizes production and capital rather than explicit time preference; however, the reproduction of capital inherently considers future projections.
Institutional Economics
Institutional economics would examine discounting within the context of societal norms, rules, and institutions, potentially shaping and constraining time preferences.
Behavioral Economics
Behavioral economists explore how actual human discounting deviates from the rational models, often resulting in insights like hyperbolic discounting or present bias, where people excessively prefer the present over future and do so non-constantly over time.
Post-Keynesian Economics
This school often focuses on the broader effects of uncertainty and the non-quantifiable aspects of decisions, which can shape temporal preferences very differently compared to a strictly calculative approach.
Austrian Economics
Austrian theorists emphasize subjective value and time preference in a personal and entrepreneurial context, dealing extensively with temporal aspects of human action and decision-making.
Development Economics
Discounting in development economics considers impacts on long-term growth, sustainability, and intergenerational equity, often underlining the significance of appropriate discount rates in project appraisal.
Monetarism
Centered on the control of the money supply to manage economic stability, Monetarism intersects with discounting through interest rate mechanisms and the time value of money.
Comparative Analysis
A comparative view of discounting the future reveals the interdisciplinary nature of the concept spanning psychology, financial appraisal, growth theory, and policy-making. Neoclassical utility rationalization contrasts sharply with behavioral economics’ empirical findings on non-linear time preference, offering a rich area for analysis.
Case Studies
Several welfare and environmental policies underscore how reflecting or misapplying discount rates can markedly affect decisions on public projects, health initiatives, and environmental regulation.
Suggested Books for Further Studies
- “The Theory of Interest” by Irving Fisher
- “Behavioral Economics” by Edward Cartwright
- “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by Thomas Piketty
- “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
Related Terms with Definitions
- Present Value (PV): The current value of a future amount of money or stream of cash flows given a specific discount rate.
- Interest Rate: The cost of borrowing money or the return for investing money, crucial in discounting future cash flows.
- Time Preference: The degree to which individuals prefer consumption now rather than in the future.
- Hyperbolic Discounting: A behavioral economic theory describing the tendency for people to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger,
