get_discount_factor: Get discount factor

In healthiar: Quantifying and Monetizing Health Impacts Attributable to Exposure

Get discount factor

Description

This function calculates the discount factor based on discount rate.

Usage

get_discount_factor(discount_rate, n_years, discount_shape = "exponential")

Arguments

discount_rate	Numeric value showing the discount rate for future years.
n_years	Numeric value or numeric vector specifying the number of years elapsed for which the discount factor is to be calculated. One factor is returned per entered value. The year 0, i.e. the present, gets a factor of 1 (no discounting). Note that this differs from the argument of the same name in monetize(), which is the time horizon: monetize() calls this function with each single year from 0 to that horizon.
discount_shape	String referring to the assumed equation for the discount factor. By default: "exponential". Otherwise: "hyperbolic_harvey_1986" or "hyperbolic_mazur_1987".

Details

Methodology

This function is called inside monetize().

One of the following three discount shapes can be selected:

• Exponential \insertCiteFrederick2002_jel,HMTreasury2026_reporthealthiar

• Hyperbolic as \insertCiteHarvey1986_ms;textualhealthiar

• Hyperbolic as \insertCiteMazur1987_book;textualhealthiar

Detailed information about the methodology (including equations) is available in the package vignette. More specifically, see chapters:

• Monetization

Value

This function returns the numeric discount factor(s), one per value entered in n_years.

Author(s)

Alberto Castro & Axel Luyten

References

\insertAllCited

See Also

• Alternative: monetize

Examples

# Goal: discount factor after a given number of years
get_discount_factor(
  discount_rate = 0.07,
  n_years = 5
 )

# Goal: discount factor for each year of a time horizon
get_discount_factor(
  discount_rate = 0.07,
  n_years = 0:5
 )

healthiar documentation built on Oct. 12, 2026, 5:07 p.m.