This is a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) which asks what people would be willing to pay for an environmental good or attribute, or willing to accept for its loss. CVM is currently central to the assessment of environmental damage and has been the subject of considerable debate, especially in the case of the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska. Aimed at specialists, this book contains specially commissioned papers from both sides of that debate, as well as from commentators who see it as an interesting experimental tool regardless of the question of...

The complex real-world interactions between the economy and the environment form both the focus of and main barrier to applied research within the field of environmental economics. However, geographical information systems (GIS) allow economists to tackle such complexity head on by directly incorporating diverse datasets into applied research rather than resorting to simplifying and often unrealistic assumptions. This innovative book applies GIS techniques to spatial cost-benefit analysis of a complex and topical land use change problem--the conversion of agricultural land to multipurpose...

Most of the chapters in this volume are authored by staff or associates of the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment (CSERGE). CSERGE is a research centre sponsored by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which specialises in interdisciplinary work focussed on environmental management issues. Weare grateful for the long term support that we have received from the ESRC. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Ann Dixon and SHin Pearce in the preparation of this volume. vii INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1. ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS AND COASTAL ZONE...