Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics 2007, Global Rethinking Infrastructure... Book

Where would we be without this book. Technical (I am an economist) but readable by anyone interested - It seems as though this book is the only thing keeping environmental concern in the political agenda - public support is not enough unless economists can present the case for international action. In this book, Stern does comprehensively and with considerations for many issues.

He considers the ethics of climate change, what the ethical implications are of different discount rates used in the cost benefit analysis, including the pure rate of time preference and the elasticity of marginal utility (how much should we value the utility of future, far more affluent generations, versus ours? This is a question of inter generational inequality).

After making noble conclusions that the future generations deserve an almost equal weight, except for the small probability of extinction (not all economists concede this), he then proceeds to use scientific research and extensive cost benefit analysis, to demonstrate that the conclusion we must take is that we cannot afford inaction. Strong, immediate, decisive action, is required. As far as I am concerned, the methodological criticisms of this book (often a question of ethics) are far outweighed by its moral and intellectual importance on the political agenda.

I sincerely hope Lord Stern and all his team go down in history for this review.