RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Option Wealth and Bequest Values: The Value of Protecting Future Generations from the Health Risks of Nuclear Waste Storage
JF Land Economics
JO Land Econ
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 537
OP 548
DO 10.2307/3147298
VO 79
IS 4
A1 Riddel, Mary
A1 Shaw, W. Douglass
YR 2003
UL http://le.uwpress.org/content/79/4/537.abstract
AB To assess the relative importance of current costs and future bene. ts of nuclear waste storage, we develop a simple model of bequest value. The basic model of nonparternalistic altruism is extended to account for the uncertain nature of the externality. The model is applied estimating the social costs of storing high-level nuclear waste at a central repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. We find that the total ex ante social cost per household associated with health and safety risks is $17,128 annually. Over half is attributed to a desire to protect future generations from the risk of nuclear waste storage. (JEL Q48)