How Do We Value the Environment?

This lecture on Environmental Economics is for non-economists interested in socio-environmental science. It is one in a series of lectures by SESYNC visiting economists, Drs. Lisa Wainger and Doug Lipton. In this lecture, Dr. Doug Lipton discusses applying basic valuation methods and the fundamental principles of “willingness-to-pay” to the environment, and the challenges of modeling this valuation philosophy empirically. Using supply and demand methodology in the oyster farming business, and taking into account environmental factors like pollution, Lipton explains how to calculate both the net benefits (consumer surplus) and negative impacts (lower supply) to producers and consumers.