Altruism and the Demand for Environmental Quality
利用预期寿命数据，设计两种利他主义检验，分析个人在决定环境质量时是否考虑后代利益，基于华盛顿邮报调查发现弱利他主义证据。
<i>This paper asks whether individuals consider the value that future generations will receive from environmental quality when deciding what level of environmental protection to provide. Using data on life expectancy, I develop two tests for altruism towards future generations. One, a test for strong altruism, asks whether individual motives are purely altruistic when deciding to provide environmental quality. The second, a test for weak altruism, combines an individual’s concern for both self-interest and the interest of future generations. Using data from a Washington Post survey on environmental attitudes to implement the test, I find evidence of weak altruism.</i>