Re: poly: Modeling Economic Singularities

Curt writes:
>A Drexlerian singularity will alter discount rates. ...
>I believe Robin's model doesn't account for the effects of insanely
>high growth rates on discount rates.

The model accounts for one effect of high growth rates on "discount rates".
Specifically, that expecting higher levels of future consumption makes future
assets worth less relative to today's assets.
Which effects do you have in mind that you don't think I'm accouting for?

>Robin: In your model, what happens if savings have increasing returns to scale
>all the way out to infinity?

The model does not assume non-increasing returns to scale on any timescale.
Therefore it applies without modification to that case.

Robin Hanson
hanson@econ.berkeley.edu http://hanson.berkeley.edu/
RWJF Health Policy Scholar, Sch. of Public Health 510-643-1884
140 Warren Hall, UC Berkeley, CA 94720-7360 FAX: 510-643-8614
Received on Mon Apr 13 17:00:59 1998