Most people in Europe live in urban environments. For these people, urban green space is an important element of well-being, but it is often in short supply. We use self-reported information on life satisfaction and different individual green space measures to explore how urban green space...

To answer the question "How to be an Ecological Economist", we must start by defining the field of Ecological Economics. Mainstream Economics altogether lacks the concepts required to deal adequately with nature, justice and time. It was the absence of these three concepts in this otherwise...

Economic analyses of nature must somehow define the “environmental commodities” to which values are attached. This paper articulates a set of principles to guide the choice and interpretation of nonmarket commodities. We describe how complex natural systems can be decomposed consistent with...

This chapter explores the theory and practice of measuring the economic costs and benefits of environmental changes that influence production, both in the context of firms and of households. The theory uses models of household and firm decision making to map the influence of environmental...

Soil provides multiple benefits for human well-being that are largely invisible to most beneficiaries. Here, we present the results of a discrete choice experiment on the preferences of Germans for soil-based ecosystem services. In an attempt to reduce complexity for respondents, we express...

In diesem Beitrag stellen wir einen Weg vor, der es erlaubt, grundsätzliche Aussagen darüber zu treffen, dass wirtschaftliches Handeln schädliche Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt mit sich bringt. Diese Auswirkungen sind naturwissenschaftlich bedingt und treten insbesondere in der...

By using ad hoc value transfer protocols, this paper offers a methodological contribution and provides accurate per hectare estimates of the economic value of some selected ecosystem services for all forest biomes in the world, identified following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment taxonomy...

Based on a Contingent Valuation study in Shanghai we assess people's willingness to contribute personally to the alleviation of environmental problems occurring in distant parts of the country. One split of our survey assessed Shanghai residents' willingness to pay for the preservation of...

The central part of the Silesia Park in Chorzów was designed as a forest refugium. Now this area of 200 ha is under pressure. Many trees have been cut down for the safety of park visitors. The forest is of significance for people who prefer walking and relaxation far from urban noise and park...

Most ecosystem services, which are essential for human well-being, are globally declining, while the production of consumption goods, measured by GDP, is still growing. To adequately account for this opposite development in public cost-benefit analyses, it has been proposed – based on a...