The Intergenerational Case of Missing Markets and Missing Voters

A simple game formulation is used to examine the possibility of linking generations when a future generation will confront a risk that can be alleviated by an earlier generation's investment. An insurance market will function provided that the overlapping generations are sufficiently near in time and share risks. Without propinquity or shared risks, there is a need for intervention to overcome the problems of missing markets and missing voters. This intervention should take the form of minimum environmental standards, based on a notion of sustainability that is constitutionally enforced.