An Examination of Recent Revealed Preference Valuation Methods and Results

In order to support the use of economics in environmental management, revealed preference studies continue to advance the measurement of environmental values. Together with integrated assessment models, these values are ever more useful for environmental management. This article briefly reviews revealed preference methods, which infer values from observed behavior. A new emphasis in this literature has been to exploit the intertemporal properties of panel data to value the environment. These panel methods have great potential, but the literature needs to develop theoretical and empirical best practices. The article also examines the latest empirical results across several environmental issues: climate change, pollution, and conservation. Valuation methods continue to be applied to additional issues and locations. Looking toward the future, technical change and economic growth suggest that additional pollutants and global-scale effects will emerge. Valuation methods need to keep pace with these new developments to be able to address the key environmental management challenges of the future.