Benefit Transfer of Environmental and Resource Values: Progress, Prospects and Challenges

This article summarizes the current state and future prospects for benefit transfer of environmental and resource values. Benefit transfer is the use of pre-existing empirical estimates from primary studies at one or more sites or contexts where research has been conducted to predict welfare estimates such as willingness to pay at other, typically unstudied sites or contexts. We orient the discussion around theory, methods and practice, focusing on progress, challenges and frontiers in the literature since the review of Johnston and Rosenberger (2010, Journal of Economic Surveys). The article begins with a brief history of benefit transfer and a summary of areas in which there is methodological consensus. It then presents questions regarding the approaches most likely to promote valid and reliable transfers, and recent research to address these questions. We conclude with an examination of the gap between research and practice, and a discussion of future prospects and research needs.