Using Contingent Valuation to Estimate the Value of Forest Ecosystem Protection

Abstract

This book provides a state-of-the-art review of both classical and emerging themes in forest resource economics. The authors show how neo-classical economic principles can be used to analyze forest policy issues across existing and developing market economies in the United States, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia. The chapters encompass traditional and modern areas of concern in forest policy, including timber production and markets, multiple use forestry, and valuation of non-market benefits. These topics are developed with case studies that demonstrate rigorous empirical analysis in a manner accessible to readers with a background in intermediate microeconomic theory and statistics. The book is intended for forest economists, forest policy analysts, and graduate students studying natural resource economics.