At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a growing struggle has arisen between those who would like to repeal existing environmental policy and those who would like to see greater environmental protection. On both sides, however, many of the arguments remain grounded in ideology. This book attempts to moderate the conflict by exploring methods to accurately measure and assess the effectiveness of environmental policies.Does Environmental Policy Work? examines our ability to assess the impact of environmental policies on the environment in particular, and on social welfare in general. The distinguished authors explore the theory of assessment, concentrating primarily on a conceptual examination of the evaluation process. They extend existing tools and identify alternative indicators and methods of appraisal. The focus then shifts to the use of these tools in real-world policy situations by applying them to a series of case studies from Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Although the authors base their assessment predominantly on economic efficiency, they also pay due regard to other interdisciplinary approaches and decision-making criteria. This comprehensive exploration of the theory and practice of environmental assessment will be of great interest to scholars of environmental economics, ecological economics and environmental science. The book will also provide guidance and direction for practitioners in the fields of environmental policy and management on how to effectively measure the outcomes of environmental policies.

Contingent valuation analysis is both a difficult and controversial means of environmental resource valuation. Yet many economists regard it as the only valid means of measuring values in environmental policy.This major new book contains a collection of papers that examine the current state-of-the-art in the valuation of environmental resources. In particular, they assess the meaningfulness of environmental resource values obtained through the contingent valuation method. An internationally prominent group of scholars develops a fuller understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and discusses a research agenda to improve estimates of environmental resource values. Economic value and the ability to obtain it through the survey measurement of consumer preferences is central to their discussion. Issues covered include the need for a broad perspective in valuation research, support for replication studies, the relationship between survey structure and survey responses, the processes by which environmental resources affect individual well-being, specific issues regarding environmental goods in surveys, and better tests of internal and external validity. The current state-of-the-art is outlined in a series of core papers and then debated in discussion papers. This major book describes how practitioners, critics, and users of contingent valuation have framed the fundamental issues that must be solved if the approach is to gain wider acceptance.

The Handbook on Contingent Valuation is unique in that it focuses on contingent valuation as a method for evaluating environmental change. It examines econometric issues, conceptual underpinnings, implementation issues as well as alternatives to contingent valuation. Anna Alberini and James Kahn have compiled a comprehensive and original reference volume containing invaluable case studies that demonstrate the implementation of contingent valuation in a wide variety of applications. Chapters include those on the history of contingent valuation, a practical guide to its implementation, the use of experimental approaches, an ecological economics perspective on contingent valuation and approaches for developing nations.The Handbook also contains:<>P discussions of underlying theory both contingent valuation and conjoint analysis comparisons of real and hypothetical data using experimental approaches an examination of survey structure issues developing country focus critical essays concerning the ethical basis of contingent valuation. This new reference book will be warmly welcomed by academics in environmental economics, environmental professionals in government, consulting firms and NGOs. Graduate and undergraduate students in economics, environmental studies and environmental policy will also find this an ever valuable resource.

This Oxford Encyclopedia of Environmental Economics focuses on the most important research topics in environmental and natural resource economics, with a treatment of close to 100 different research areas. Each chapter offers a critical analysis of key contributions to the field. The contributions, authored by experts from institutions around the world, are useful for informing policy as well as future research. The chapters will prove a vital point of demarcation for researchers and practitioners. It will be a good foundation for researchers who want to extend the frontiers of the state of the art in a given area of research, as well as those who want to base their empirical work on the best possible theoretical pillars. Practitioners can more effectively develop policy, as they see the documentation of cause and effect relationships in the appropriate chapters. The chapters are an ideal starting point for Ph.D. students developing thesis topics. Professors will want to assign chapters in the encyclopedia to undergraduate and graduates students in classes in environmental economics, natural resource economics, fishery economics, forest economics, economic development, health economics and sustainability. Students will find the chapters useful as a starting point for writing research papers in these classes.