NSCPHD1196 Economic Valuation of Non-marketed Environmental Goods

Volume 2013/2014
Education
Applied Economics (AECON)
Content
The course is intended for PhD students who have no or very limited previous experience with economic valuation. The course will provide the PhD students with a solid theoretical foundation in economic valuation of environmental goods and the associated empirical, econometric methods.

The first part of the course will give a broad introduction to the welfare the-oretic background and the methods of economic valuation of non-marketed goods. The second part of the course focuses in more detail on one (or more) of the economic valuation methods; hedonic pricing, travel cost method, contingent valuation or choice experiments. Specifically which method(s) to focus on in the second part is up to the student, depending on what is relevant for the student’s own PhD project.

Course activities consist of three elements:
- Reading of the extensive reading list, see below
- Meetings with and presentations for course supervisors. PhD stu-dents can ask about the theory and empirical methods and present their own reflections on the relevance of the theory and the empirical methods for their own research
- Preparation of a course report focusing on relevant theory and meth-ods for own research
Learning Outcome
Learning Objectives:
The central themes of the course are the methodologies and techniques ap-plied in economic valuation of non-marketed goods and the underlying eco-nomic theory. These skills and competences acquired from this course are necessary in order to conduct state-of-the-art empirical surveys and research in this field. Having successfully completed the course the participant is ex-pected to be able to:

Knowledge:
- Explain the welfare economic principles underlying economic valua-tion methods
- Describe the different economic valuation methods
- Reflect on the relevance and limitations of valuation methods in re-lation to various environmental goods and services, human life, etc.

Skills:
- Identify relevant approaches to empirical economic valuation studies in specific analytical settings
- Evaluate the validity of the quantitative results obtained in economic valuation studies.

Competences:
- Assess the relevance and limitations of empirical economic valuation surveys in different policy settings
- Discuss scientific and political disagreements in relation to economic valuation
Journal art. ctd:
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J.L., 1992. Valuing Public Goods: The Purchase of Moral Satisfaction, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 22, 57-70.
Kling, Catherine L., Daniel J. Phaneuf, and Jinhua Zhao.2012. "From Exx-on to BP: Has Some Number Become Better Than No Number?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(4): 3-26.
Willig, R. 1976. Consumer’s Surplus Without Apology. American Eco-nomic Review 66: 589-597.

Course Literature for the second (specific) part of the course: The course also includes specific reading according to the emprical interest of the PhD student within - Hedonic pricing - Travel cost - Contingent Valuation - Choice Experiments .. this are made available at course start.
Course activities consist of three elements: - Reading of the extensive reading list, see below - Meetings with and presentations for course supervisors. PhD stu-dents can ask about the theory and empirical methods and present their own reflections on the relevance of the theory and the empirical methods for their own research - Preparation of a course report focusing on relevant theory and meth-ods for own research The list of matieral is too long for the format, so we start reporting it here:' Course Literature for the first (general) part of the course: Textbooks: Freeman III, A.M. 2003. The Measurement of Environmental and Resource Values: Theory and Methods, Second Edition. Washington, DC: Re-sources for the Future Press. Hanley, N., Barbier, E.B., 2009: Pricing nature. Cost-Benefit Analysis and Environmental Policy. Edward Elgar Journal articles: Adamowicz, W. L., P. Boxall, M. Williams, and J. Louviere.1998. Stated Preference Approaches for Measuring Passive Use Values: Choice Experiments and Contingent Valuation. American Journal of Agricul-tural Economics, 80: 64-75. Carson, Richard T.2012. "Contingent Valuation: A Practical Alternative When Prices Aren't Available." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(4): 27-42. Carson, R.T. and T. Groves. 2007. Incentive and Information Properties of Preference Questions. Environmental and Resource Economics 37(1): 181-210. Carson, R.T., N.E. Flores and N.F. Meade. 2001. Contingent Valuation: Controversies and Evidence. Environmental and Resource Economics 19: 173-210. Hanemann, W.M. 1984. Welfare Evaluations in Contingent Valuation Ex-periments with Discrete Responses. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 66(3): 332-341. Hanley, Nick, Robert E. Wright, and W. L. Adamowicz.1998. "Using Choice Experiments to Value the Environment. Environmental and Resource Economics, 11(3-4): 413-428. Hausman, Jerry.2012. "Contingent Valuation: From Dubious to Hopeless." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(4): 43-56.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Colloquia
  • 20
  • Guidance
  • 20
  • Preparation
  • 110
  • Project work
  • 60
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
The course is assessed as "pass" or "fail" on the basis of the quality of the insights gained and reflected in the independent work to formulate a theoretical basis and develop an empirical approach that is relevant in relation to the student’s own PhD project.
Censorship form
No external censorship