Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Klauer, Bernd

Titel

Ecosystem prices: activity analysis applied to ecosystems

Ist Teil von

• Ecological economics, 2000-06, Vol.33 (3), p.473-486

Ort / Verlag

Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Quelle

Elsevier Journal Backfiles on ScienceDirect (DFG Nationallizenzen)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In this paper a method is developed to derive prices for natural goods from information about material and energy flows within ecosystems. The derivation is based on an analogy between ecological and economic systems: both systems are characterized by flows of material and energy. To derive ecosystem prices the mathematical structure of Koopman’s economic linear production model — his activity analysis — is applied to a material flow model of ecosystems. The ecological interpretation of these prices is discussed and the uniqueness of the price system is investigated. An algorithm for price calculation is derived and demonstrated with a numerical example. Finally, it is discussed whether ecosystem prices may be suitable as surrogates for economic valuations of natural goods.