The life satisfaction approach to environmental valuation

Arbeitspapier

In many countries environmental policies and regulations are implemented to improve environmental quality and thus individuals' well-being. However, how do individuals value the environment? In this paper, we review the Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA) representing a new non-market valuation technique. The LSA builds on the recent development of subjective well-being research in economics and takes measures of reported life satisfaction as an empirical approximation to individual welfare. Micro-econometric life satisfaction functions are estimated taking into account environmental conditions along with income and other covariates. The estimated coefficients for the environmental good and income can then be used to calculate the implicit willingness-to-pay for the environmental good.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 4478

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Valuation of Environmental Effects ; General Welfare; Well-Being ; Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
• Subject: Life satisfaction approach ; subjective well-being ; non-market valuation ; cost-benefit analysis ; air pollution ; Umweltbelastung ; Umweltschutz ; Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse ; Lebenszufriedenheit ; Lebensqualität ; Willingness to pay ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Frey, Bruno S. ; Luechinger, Simon ; Stutzer, Alois
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2009

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/36077
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-20091019279
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET