Beta-delta discounting To account for this fact,economists model overall utility as a weighted sum of instantaneous utility levels from the present period and all future periods: Uoverall=aloday+bUtomorrow+CUthe mext day+··, The coefficients a,b and c are weights that represent the fact that individuals do not necessarily value utility in all periods equally. People value utility now more than utility later. ·Thus a>b>c Bhattacharya,Hyde and Tu-HealthEconomics Bhattacharya, Hyde and Tu – Health Economics  To account for this fact, economists model overall utility as a weighted sum of instantaneous utility levels from the present period and all future periods: Uoverall = aUtoday + bUtomorrow + cUthe next day + · · · • The coefficients a, b and c are weights that represent the fact that individuals do not necessarily value utility in all periods equally. • People value utility now more than utility later. • Thus a > b > c Beta-delta discounting