Ironically, although cost-benefit analysts generally ignore the diminishing marginal benefit of money when they are aggregating value across people at a single date, their main case for discounting future commodities is founded on this diminishing marginal benefit.
I think the “main” (i.e. econ 101) case for time discounting (for all policy decisions other than determining savings rates) is roughly the one given by Robin here.
I don’t think there is a big incongruity here. Questions about diminishing returns to wealth become relevant when trying to determine what savings rate might be socially optimal. Analogously, questions about diminishing returns to wealth become relevant when we ask about what level of redistribution might be socially optimal, even if most economists would prefer to bracket them for most other policy discussions.
I think the “main” (i.e. econ 101) case for time discounting (for all policy decisions other than determining savings rates) is roughly the one given by Robin here.
I don’t think there is a big incongruity here. Questions about diminishing returns to wealth become relevant when trying to determine what savings rate might be socially optimal. Analogously, questions about diminishing returns to wealth become relevant when we ask about what level of redistribution might be socially optimal, even if most economists would prefer to bracket them for most other policy discussions.