What Do We Value Related to the Environment and Natural Resources?

This lecture on Environmental Economics is for non-economists interested in socio-environmental science. It is one in a series of lectures by SESYNC visiting economists, Drs. Lisa Wainger and Doug Lipton. In this lecture, Dr. Doug Lipton discusses the array of services individuals value related to ecosystems: provisioning (food, fuel, etc.) regulating (climate regulation, water purification, etc.), and cultural (spiritual, educational, etc.). He says how much people value these services influences how economists measure them, using “use value” (market value, non-market value) or “non-use or passive-use value” (existence, altruistic, bequest, and option) methodologies. He argues that this type of valuationmeasuring surpluses and willingness-to-pay minus what you payis the underpinning of today’s survey measurements. Using an example from the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its impacts, he describes how survey techniques that ask about values have been utilized in policy-making decisions.

  • About the Presenters
    Image
    A headshot of Doug Lipton

    Doug Lipton

    Dr. Doug Lipton is the Senior Research Scientist for Economics at NOAA Fisheries. In this role, he provides leadership and guidance to the economic and social science enterprise across the agency. In this role, he advises NOAA senior leadership on the conduct and interpretation of economic and social science analyses that impact agency policies. Areas of interest include commercial fisheries analysis, recreational fisheries economics, non-market valuation of marine resources, and aquaculture economics.

    Most of his research and extension work has focused on valuation of benefits related to...

    Image
    A headshot of Doug Lipton

    Doug Lipton

    Dr. Doug Lipton is the Senior Research Scientist for Economics at NOAA Fisheries. In this role, he provides leadership and guidance to the economic and social science enterprise across the agency. In this role, he advises NOAA senior leadership on the conduct and interpretation of economic and social science analyses that impact agency policies. Areas of interest include commercial fisheries analysis, recreational fisheries economics, non-market valuation of marine resources, and aquaculture economics.

    Most of his research and extension work has focused on valuation of benefits related to improvements in water quality and the economics of ecosystem-based fisheries management with specific application to the Chesapeake Bay. His current focus is on integrating economics with ecosystem-based fisheries modeling approaches. He has conducted local and international research on the economics of finfish and shellfish aquaculture in extensive, intensive, and multi-trophic production systems. Lipton, until recently, was a member of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council, Scientific and Statistical Committee. He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the International Institute for Fisheries Economics and Trade, Board Member of the Marine Resource Economics Foundation and Board Member of the Maryland Agricultural and Resource Based Industries Development Corporation.

Presenters
Doug Lipton, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries
Date
Share