Abstract

In this paper, the social discount rate (SDR) is calculated for nine South American countries. We use the social time preference methodology, and as opposed to previous studies for the region, the elasticity of marginal utility of consumption is estimated econometrically using a panel data approach. In particular, a fixed effect panel data model was used to estimate the income elasticity of demand for food. The time-series data used come from the same sources for every country under consideration and correspond to the period 1990–2020.