Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Economy & Environment ((ECEN,volume 13))

  • 229 Accesses

Abstract

Academic and policy debate about the conceptual and operational meaning of “sustainability” has flourished since the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) report, Our Common Future. Much of this debate has focused on the theoretical significance of future economic values, especially nonuse values for natural resource and environmental goods, in aggregate social decision rules (e.g. Pearce et al., 1990; Van Pelt, 1993; Toman, 1994). Relatively little attention, however, has been given to empirical measurement of total economic values that encompass nonuse values. This is a serious shortcoming since any efforts to implement sustainable policies must incorporate some explicit or implicit value for future resource availability (Toman, 1994).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Allen, T. and Hoekstra, T. (1992) Toward a Unified Ecology: Complexity in Ecological Systems,Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asheim, G. (1991) Unjust intergenerational allocations, Journal of Economic Theory 54, 350–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asheim, G. (1994) Net national product as an indicator of sustainability, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 96, 257–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartelmus, P. (1995) Toward a system of integrated environmental and economic accounts (SEEA), in J. Milon and J. Shogren (eds.), Integrating Economic and Ecological Indicators, Praeger Publishers, New York, pp. 141–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, S. (1993) Value standards in sub-sustainable development. On limits of ecological economics, Ecological Economics 7, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B., Hanson, M., Liverman, D. and Meredith Jr, R. (1987) Global sustainability: toward definition, Environmental Management 11, 713–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Common, M. and Perrings, C. (1992) Towards an ecological economics of sustainability, Ecological Economics 6, 7–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, T. and Shogren, J. (1993) Dynamic inconsistency in valuing environmental goods, Ecological Economics 7, 239–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta, P. and Heal, G. (1979) Economic Theory and Exhaustible Resources, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desvousges, W., Johnson, R., Dunford, R., Boyle, K., Hudson, S. and Wilson, K. (1994) Measuring natural resource damages with contingent valuation: tests of validity and reliability, in P. Diamond (ed.), Contingent Valuation: A Critical Assessment, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, F. and van der Straaten, J. (1992) Rethinking environmental economics: missing links between economic theory and environmental policy, Journal of Economic Issues 26, 27–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drepper, F.R. and Mansson, B.A. (1993) Intertemporal valuation in an unpredictable environment, Ecological Economics 7, 43–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, M. (1993a) The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values, Theory and Methods, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, M. (1993b) Non-use values in natural resource damage assessment, in R. Kopp and V.K. Smith (eds.), Valuing Natural Assets, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C., pp. 264–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanemann, M. (1991) Willingness to pay and willingness to accept: how much can they differ? American Economic Review 81, 635–647.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holling, C.S. (1986) The resilience of terrestrial ecosystems: local surprise and global change, in W. Clark and R. Munn (eds.), Sustainable Development of the Biosphere, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howarth, R. and Norgaard, R. (1990) Intergenerational resource rights, efficiency, and social optimality, Land Economics 66, 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D. and Knetsch, J. (1992) Valuing public goods: the purchase of moral satisfaction, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 22, 57–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig, D., Hilborn, R. and Walters, C. (1993) Uncertainty, resource exploitation, and conservation: lessons from history, Science 260, 17–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, R.C. and Carson, R.T. (1989) Using Surveys to Value Public Goods: The Contingent Valuation Method, Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, D. (1993) Economic Values and the Natural World, MIT Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce, D., Markandya, A. and Barbier, E. (1990) Sustainable Development, Edward Elgar, Aldershot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelt, M.J.F. van. (1993) Ecologically sustainable development and project appraisal in developing countries, Ecological Economics 7, 19–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randall, A. (1991) Total and non-use values, in J. Braden and C. Kolstad (eds.), Measuring the Demand for Environmental Quality, North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 303–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salwasser, H. (1993) Sustainability needs more than better science, Ecological Applications 3, 587–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson, P. (1954) The pure theory of public expenditure, Review of Economics and Statistics 36, 387–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shearman, R. (1990) The meaning and ethics of sustainability, Environmental Management 14, 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. (1982) Models of Bounded Rationality, MIT Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solow, R. (1986) On the intertemporal allocation of natural resources, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 88, 141–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starrett, D. (1988) Foundations of Public Economics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toman, M. (1994) Economics and “sustainability”: balancing trade-offs and imperatives, Land Economics 70, 399–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (1993) Handbook of National Accounting: Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting, United Nations Publications, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Milon, J.W. (1998). Sustainability Concepts and Total Economic Valuation. In: Faucheux, S., O’Connor, M., van der Straaten, J. (eds) Sustainable Development: Concepts, Rationalities and Strategies. Economy & Environment, vol 13. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3188-1_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3188-1_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4970-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3188-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics