@techreport{NBERw7983,
 title = "The Social Discount Rate",
 author = "Andrew Caplin and John Leahy",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "7983",
 year = "2000",
 month = "October",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w7983",
 abstract = {In welfare theory it is standard to pick the consumption stream that maximizes the welfare of the representative agent.  We argue against this position, and show that a benevolent social planner will generally place a greater weight on future consumption than does the representative agent.  Our analysis has immediate implications for public policy: agents discount the future too much and the government should promote future oriented policies.},
}