Articulation of Plural Values in Deliberative Monetary Valuation: Beyond Preference Economisation and Moralisation

The use of deliberative methods to assess environmental values in monetary terms has been motivated by the potential for small group discussion to help with preference formation and the inclusion of non-economic values. In this review, two broad approaches are identified: preference economisation and preference moralisation. The former is analytical, concentrates upon issues of poor respondent cognition and produces a narrow conception of value linked to utilitarianism. The latter emphasises political legitimacy, appeals to community values and tends to privilege arguments made in the public interest. Both approaches are shown to embrace forms of value convergence which undermine the prospects for value pluralism. As a result exclusion and predefinition of values dominates current practice. In order to maintain democratic credentials, the importance attributed to monetary value needs to be left as an open question to be addressed as part of a process determining an ‘agreement to pay’. To this end we identify a discourse-based approach as a third way consistent with the democratic and value plural potential of deliberative monetary valuation.environmental valuation; deliberation; stated preferences; democracy; willingness to pay; value pluralism

Environmental valuation in European Union policy-making

This paper offers a critical review of natural resource valuation and points out the role of economic valuation in EU policy-making. First of all, we specify the meaning of the economic value of environmental amenities, illustrate the most reliable and often used economic valuation techniques, and their major weaknesses. We then point out the normative significance of environmental valuation in the evolution of the EU environmental consciousness, and distinguish between its different applications. According to this framework, we critically review the studies carried out in the last few years (1998-2001) by the European Commission DG Environment, which are both methodological and application-oriented. Furthermore, we carry out a restricted survey on research in Europe. Our analysis makes clear that the diffusion of environmental valuation in Europe is unsatisfactory and that decision- makers distrust is still strong.environmental valuation, cost-benefit analysis, environmental policy

"Cost Effective Conservation Planning: Twenty Lessons from Economics"

Economists advocate that the billions of public dollars spent on conservation should be allocated to achieve the largest possible social benefit. This is what we term “cost-effective conservation”-- a process that incorporates both benefits and costs that are measured with money. This controversial proposition has been poorly understood and not implemented by conservation planners. Drawing from evidence from the largest conservation programs in the United States, this paper seeks to improve the communication between economists and planners and overcome resistance to cost-effective conservation by addressing the open questions that likely drive skepticism among non-economists and by identifying best practices for project selection. We first delineate project-selection strategies and compare them to optimization. Then we synthesize the body of established research findings from economics into 20 practical lessons. Based on theory, policy considerations, and empirical evidence, these lessons illustrate the potential gains from improving practices related to cost-effective selection and also address how to overcome landowner-incentive challenges that face programs.conservation planning, cost-effectiveness, nonmarket valuation, benefit cost targeting, optimization, prioritization

VIE Project: Cultural values and socioeconomic factors as determinants of entrepreneurial intentions

This paper describes a research project currently being developed by the authors. It aims to analyse the role played by psychosocial, cultural and socioeconomic factors in shaping the entrepreneurial intention. Survey methods will be used on a population of potential entrepreneurs (having not yet performed actual entrepreneurial behaviours). In this sense, undergraduate students and individuals contacting business support centres will be considered as part of the sample. We expect to get a clearer understanding of the psychosocial elements, socioeconomic factors and cultural values affecting the venture-creation decision. The results would be important to policy makers (showing them what to encourage), to practitioners (what to do better), and to researchers (what to clarify)

Assessing the Value of International Workers:a Case of Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria

As a result of globalization, many companies, be it corporate, public or international operates on a global scale. With the rise of companies operating in a global village, many companies are also expanding internationally. Mostly, international organizations operating abroad are faced with employees of foreign cultures with an entirely different perspective. Oftentimes, cross-cultural issues arise in the management of the company's human resources (HR). According to Laroche (1998), the rapid globalization of the world's economy has brought forth several changes. In view of this, it is the intention of this non-empirical article to investigate how to assess the international workers, by adopting the latest management trend

The MODERE Model and The Economic Analysis of Farmers’ Decisions

The MODERE, the Ministry of the Environment Irrigation Decision Model, is a simulation tool which uses mathematical programming methods to reveal the implicit multiattribute objective function lying behind the observed cropping decision. The model takes different criteria such as profit maximization, risk aversion, avoidance of management complexities and so forth into account. In order to determine the feasible combination of attributes of this objective function the model considers the production possibility frontier explicitly as depending on market prices, policy incentives, availability of production factors, water irrigation facilities agronomic vocation and other constraints. Once calibrated the model becomes a powerful tool to assess the impact of different policy scenarios such as subsidies decoupling, water prices modifications, irrigation technique substitution and so on. The MODERE is a preference revelation model purposedly designed to be integrated in the Decision Support Platform which is used by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment to compare the policy scenarios which are relevant to assess the effectiveness and economic impact of the measures designed to reach the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive. The model is supported by a comprehensive data base built on purpose for its implementation covering almost all the Spanish Irrigation Districts with high spatial detail. This model is currently one of the important modules of the information and decision support systems developed by the Economic Analysis Unit of the Water Directorate at the Ministry of the Environment in Spain.Agricultural Economics, Water Economics, Simulated Models, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Guidelines for Economic Evaluation of Public Sector Water Resource Projects

Water development plays an important role in the economy of states and regions. However, procedures for estimating the expected net worth of proposed projects have never been simple, and results have rarely been without controversy. This report presents some guidelines for the application of economic evaluation procedures in project analysis of public sector water development in North Dakota. A brief history of North Dakota water development and two case studies of North Dakota water projects are included in this report.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Intellectual property rights, licensing, and innovation

There is considerable debate in economics literature on whether a decision by developing countries to strengthen their protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) will increase or reduce their access to modern technologies invented by industrial countries. This access can be achieved through technology transfer of various kinds, including foreign direct investment and licensing. Licensing is the focus of this paper.To the extent that inventing firms choose to act more monopolistically and offer fewer technologies on the market, stronger IPRs could reduce international technology flows. However, to the extent that IPRs raise the returns to innovation and licensing, these flows would expand. In theory, the outcome depends on how IPRs affect several variables-the costs of, and returns to, international licensing; the wage advantage of workers in poor countries; the innovation process in industrial countries; and the amount of labor available for innovation and production. The authors develop a theoretical model in which firms in the North (industrial countries) innovate products of higher quality levels and decide whether to produce in the North or transfer production rights to the South (developing countries) through licensing. Different quality levels of each product are sold in equilibrium because of differences in consumers'willingness-to-pay for quality improvements. Contracting problems exist because the inventors in the North must indicate to licensees in the South whether their product is of higher or lower quality and also prevent the licensees from copying the technology. So, constraints in the model ensure that the equilibrium flow of licensing higher-quality goods meets these objectives. When the South strengthens its patent rights, copying by licensees is made costlier but the returns to licensing are increased. This change affects the dynamic decisions regarding innovation and technology transfer, which could rise or fall depending on market parameters, including the labor available for research and production. Results from the model show that the net effects depend on the balance between profits made by the Northern licensor and lower labor costs in the South. If the size of the labor force used in Northern innovation compared with that used in producing goods in both the North and South is sufficiently small (a condition that accords with reality), stronger IPRs in the South would lead to more licensing and innovation. This change would also increase the Southern wage relative to the Northern wage. So, in this model a decision by developing countries to increase their patent rights would expand global innovation and increase technology transfer. This result is consistent with recent empirical evidence. It should be noted that while the results suggest that international agreements to strengthen IPRs should expand global innovation and technology transfer through licensing, the model cannot be used for welfare analysis. Thus, while the developing countries enjoy more inward licensing, the cost per license could be higher, and prices could also rise, with an unclear overall effect on economic well-being.Agricultural Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Knowledge Economy,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Education for the Knowledge Economy,Knowledge Economy,Agricultural Research