This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wade-Benzoni, K. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Thinking About the Future

An Intergenerational Perspective on the Conflict and Compatibility Between Economic and Environmental Interests

New York University

The current "win-lose" versus "win-win" debate on the relationship between economic competitiveness and environmental protection is biased toward win-lose by a narrow focus on the economic interests of a specific actor. When economic interests are broadened to include the interests of other parties, especially other parties in future generations, the opportunity to create aggregate value becomes more apparent. The intergenerational perspective enables us to see that in the long-run, economic and environmental interests often converge as resources are transferred across generations. The intergenerational perspective is particularly useful in highlighting the appropriateness of adopting this broader understanding of economic interests because the relationship between the economic interests of various actors often only becomes apparent over a period of time spanning across several generations. There are a number of factors that prevent us from taking this intergenerational perspective, which leads to intergenerational discounting. Recent research suggests ways of dealing with obstacles to thinking in intergenerational terms.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. H. BAZERMAN, D. A. MOORE, and J. J. GILLESPIE The Human Mind as a Barrier to Wiser Environmental Agreements American Behavioral Scientist, May 1, 1999; 42(8): 1277 - 1300. [Abstract] [PDF]