CURRENT STATUS OF BENEFITS TRANSFER IN THE U.S.: A REVIEW

Benefits transfer refers to the use of existing benefit estimates in a different, but similar context as compared to the original study which generated the benefit estimates. Benefits transfer techniques include fixed value transfer, expert opinion, and value estimator models. Although benefits transfer techniques are subject to a number of conceptual and empirical limitations, these techniques are widely applied in the United States in economic assessments of public policies and projects. The application of benefits transfer in natural resource damage assessment cases is relatively untested in the United States court system.