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Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services: a review for decision makers

Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services: a review for decision makers
Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services: a review for decision makers
There is increasing interest in the use of economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services for a wide variety of purposes. These include relatively familiar uses in project appraisal and more novel applications in advocacy, performance tracking and accounting in public and private settings. Decision makers who use valuation information need to understand the background, strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. The methods have a strong foundation in economic theory and offer a rapidly growing evidence base, improving ability to evaluate a broad range of ecosystem goods and services. Nevertheless, there are theoretical and practical limitations that need to be understood and kept in mind when interpreting results. In this paper, we briefly review the economic valuation methods and situate them in their historical and theoretical contexts. We assess the main critiques, attempts at resolving them, and implications for the usefulness of the methods in different contexts. We examine the main barriers and opportunities for wider uses of valuation evidence, and draw conclusions on the appropriate role of valuation in future, as a tool for aiding reflection and deliberation processes.
Economic valuation;, criticisms of economic valuation, stated preference, revealed preference, ecosystem services, policy appraisal, decision support
2160-6552
Tinch, R.
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Beaumont, N.
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Sunderland, T
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Ozdemiroglu, Ece
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Barton, David
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Bowe, C.
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Borger, Thomas
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Cooper, Canon Nigel
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Burgess, Paul
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Faccioli, Micchela
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Failler, P.
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Gkolemi, Ianna
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Kumar, Ritesh
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Longo, Alberto
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McVittie, A.
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Morris, Joe
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Park, J.
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Ravenscroft, N.
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Schaafsma, Marije
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Vause, James
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Ziv, G.
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Tinch, R.
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Beaumont, N.
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Sunderland, T
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Ozdemiroglu, Ece
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Barton, David
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Bowe, C.
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Borger, Thomas
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Cooper, Canon Nigel
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Burgess, Paul
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Faccioli, Micchela
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Failler, P.
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Gkolemi, Ianna
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Kumar, Ritesh
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Longo, Alberto
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McVittie, A.
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Morris, Joe
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Park, J.
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Ravenscroft, N.
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Schaafsma, Marije
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Vause, James
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Ziv, G.
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Tinch, R., Beaumont, N., Sunderland, T, Ozdemiroglu, Ece, Barton, David, Bowe, C., Borger, Thomas, Cooper, Canon Nigel, Burgess, Paul, Faccioli, Micchela, Failler, P., Gkolemi, Ianna, Kumar, Ritesh, Longo, Alberto, McVittie, A., Morris, Joe, Park, J., Ravenscroft, N., Schaafsma, Marije, Vause, James and Ziv, G. (2019) Economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services: a review for decision makers. Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy. (doi:10.1080/21606544.2019.1623083).

Record type: Article

Abstract

There is increasing interest in the use of economic valuation of ecosystem goods and services for a wide variety of purposes. These include relatively familiar uses in project appraisal and more novel applications in advocacy, performance tracking and accounting in public and private settings. Decision makers who use valuation information need to understand the background, strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. The methods have a strong foundation in economic theory and offer a rapidly growing evidence base, improving ability to evaluate a broad range of ecosystem goods and services. Nevertheless, there are theoretical and practical limitations that need to be understood and kept in mind when interpreting results. In this paper, we briefly review the economic valuation methods and situate them in their historical and theoretical contexts. We assess the main critiques, attempts at resolving them, and implications for the usefulness of the methods in different contexts. We examine the main barriers and opportunities for wider uses of valuation evidence, and draw conclusions on the appropriate role of valuation in future, as a tool for aiding reflection and deliberation processes.

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Econ_Valuation_Review_Paper_JEEP_Article_revision (1) - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 May 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 11 June 2019
Keywords: Economic valuation;, criticisms of economic valuation, stated preference, revealed preference, ecosystem services, policy appraisal, decision support

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 432004
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/432004
ISSN: 2160-6552
PURE UUID: 3188f8e8-2562-43e3-ac9e-2895ea164c44
ORCID for Marije Schaafsma: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0878-069X

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Date deposited: 26 Jun 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:57

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Contributors

Author: R. Tinch
Author: N. Beaumont
Author: T Sunderland
Author: Ece Ozdemiroglu
Author: David Barton
Author: C. Bowe
Author: Thomas Borger
Author: Canon Nigel Cooper
Author: Paul Burgess
Author: Micchela Faccioli
Author: P. Failler
Author: Ianna Gkolemi
Author: Ritesh Kumar
Author: Alberto Longo
Author: A. McVittie
Author: Joe Morris
Author: J. Park
Author: N. Ravenscroft
Author: James Vause
Author: G. Ziv

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