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Valuing Environmental Factors in Cost-Benefit Analysis Using Data Envelopment Analysis

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  • Kuosmanen, Timo
  • Kortelainen, Mika

Abstract

Environmental cost-benefit analysis (ECBA) refers to social evaluation of investment projects and policies that involve significant environmental impacts. Valuation of the environmental impacts in monetary terms forms one of the critical steps in ECBA. We propose a new approach for environmental valuation within ECBA framework that is based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and does not demand any price estimation for environmental impacts using traditional revealed or stated preference methods. We show that DEA can be modified to the context of CBA by using absolute shadow prices instead of traditionally used relative prices. We also discuss how the approach can be used for sensitive analysis which is an important part of ECBA. We illustrate the application of the DEA approach to ECBA by means of a hypothetical numerical example where a household considers investment to a new sport utility vehicle.

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  • Kuosmanen, Timo & Kortelainen, Mika, 2006. "Valuing Environmental Factors in Cost-Benefit Analysis Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Valuation Working Papers 12231, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
  • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemsi:12231
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.12231
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    15. Manyama, Mkama Thomas & Hepelwa, Aloyce Shaban & Nahonyo, Cuthbert Leonard, 2021. "GIS Based Environmental Cost−Benefit Analysis of Built Environment at Dar es Salaam Coastline Metropolitan," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 9(2), April.
    16. Kortelainen, Mika, 2008. "Dynamic environmental performance analysis: A Malmquist index approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 701-715, February.
    17. George Halkos & Argyro Zisiadou, 2018. "Relating environmental performance with socioeconomic and cultural factors," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 20(1), pages 69-88, January.
    18. Bosetti, Valentina & Buchner, Barbara, 2009. "Data Envelopment Analysis of different climate policy scenarios," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1340-1354, March.
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    23. Kuosmanen, Timo & Kuosmanen, Natalia, 2009. "How not to measure sustainable value (and how one might)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 235-243, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy;

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects

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