Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Berichte
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10419/157354
Volltext Publikationsdokument
Titel (primär) Existence value, biodiversity, and the utilitarian dilemma
Autor Bartkowski, B.
Quelle UFZ Discussion Papers
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
Department OEKON
Band/Volume 2/2017
Seite bis 17
Sprache englisch
Keywords axiology; biodiversity; economic valuation; existence value; utilitarianism
UFZ Querschnittsthemen RU6;
Abstract Existence value has been argued to be a significant part of the total economic value of some ecosystems. However, its compatibility with the welfare economic foundations of economic valuation is very limited – it is difficult to logically conceive of changes in existence. Moreover, when applied to biodiversity, the concept of existence value gives rise to an instance of a more fundamental problem of economic valuation, termed here the utilitarian dilemma: it can be argued conceptually that biodiversity cannot have existence value; yet the results of empirical studies suggest that people in stated preference studies can be expected to assign existence value to it. The utilitarian dilemma arises as the analysing economist must deal somehow with ‘erroneous’ preferences. There seems to be no simple solution to the dilemma, but deliberative monetary valuation has the potential to alleviate it.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=19227
Bartkowski, B. (2017):
Existence value, biodiversity, and the utilitarian dilemma
UFZ Discussion Papers 2/2017
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ, Leipzig, 17 pp.