James Broughel is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University Law School. James specializes in state and federal regulatory procedures, cost-benefit analysis, and economic growth. He joins the show today to talk about a recent symposium he hosted on the social discount rate; what it is, its uses, and the controversy surrounding how to measure it. David and James also discuss cost-benefit analysis in the regulatory world and why the social discount rate matters for policy.

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/03182019/discounting-future

James' Twitter: @JamesBroughel

James' Mercatus profile: https://www.mercatus.org/james-broughel

Related Links:

*The Social Rate of Time Preference and the Social Discount Rate* by Mark Moore and Adam Vining

https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/moore_and_vining_-_mercatus_research_-_a_social_rate_of_time_preference_approach_to_social_discount_rate_-_v1.pdf

*The Appropriate Measure of the Social Discount Rate and Its Role in the Analysis of Policies with Long-Run Consequences* by David Burgess

https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/burgess_-_mercatus_research_-_the_appropriate_measure_of_the_social_discount_rate_and_its_role_in_the_analysis_of_policies_with_long-run_consequences_-_v1.pdf

*The Unsettled Matter of Discounting the Future* by James Broughel

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/regulation/social-discount-rate/unsettled-matter-discounting-future

*Equity or Efficiency? The Battle for the Soul of Benefit-Cost Analysis* by James Broughel

https://www.mercatus.org/publications/regulatory-analysis/equity-or-efficiency-battle-soul-benefit-cost-analysis

Amazon link to James' former band *Levy*: https://www.amazon.com/Levy/e/B001LHXCE2/ref=dp_byline_cont_music_1

David's blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com David's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth