Title: Unit 7 Glossary
Course: BIS 105 Environmental Biology > Section: BIS 105 Environmental Biology

Unit 7 Glossary

Terms

Term | Definitions
avoided cost | A type of direct method that equates the value of an environmental improvement with a cost that can then be avoided.
coase theorem | The idea that with property rights and frictionless negotiation, private agents will bargain to reach efficient outcomes even in the face of externalities.
command and control | Regulations that set strict, specific guidelines to govern the behavior of polluters and resource users.
common pool resource | A resource that is open to all users, but which is highly rival in use.
conjoint analysis | A stated preference valuation tool that allows an analyst to estimate the marginal values of multiple attributes of an environmental good.
contingent valuation | A stated preference valuation tool that describes a single environmental good and elicits survey responses from which the analyst can estimate people’s value for that good.
deadweight loss | The extent to which net benefits are lower than they could be.
direct methods | Valuation tools that use data on actual market transactions to estimate the value of a change in the environment.
ecosystem services | Resources and processes through which the environment gives benefits to humanity.
efficient | Having the feature that net benefits are maximized.
free rider | A person who does not contribute to a public good in hopes that they can benefit from provision by other people.
hedonic price analysis | A revealed preference tool that uses data on house prices and characteristics to estimate the value of features of the environment that vary among houses.
hedonic wage analysis | A revealed preference tool that uses data on wages and risk of death by job type estimate willingness to pay to reduce the risk of death.
marginal benefit | The additional benefit of doing one more unit of something.
marginal cost | The additional cost of doing one more unit of something.
market failure | A condition that causes a market not to yield the efficient outcome.
negative externality | A cost that is borne by someone who did not agree to the activity that caused the cost.
net benefits | The difference between total benefits and total costs.
non-use values | Values people have for nature that do not stem from direct interaction.
positive externality | A benefit that accrues to someone who did not agree to the activity that caused the benefit.
public good | A good with two features: (i) it has a benefit that does not diminish with the number of people enjoying it, and (ii) no one can be excluded from consuming it.
revealed preference | Valuation tools that use behaviors such as job choice, housing choice, and recreational site choice to reveal information about the values people have for features of the environment.
stated preference | Valuation tools that use survey responses to hypothetical questions rather than data on actual choices.
travel cost analysis | A revealed preference tool that estimates the values of natural resource amenities by analyzing data on recreational site characteristics and people’s visitation patterns and travel costs.
use values | A revealed preference tool that estimates the values of natural resource amenities by analyzing data on recreational site characteristics and people’s visitation patterns and travel costs.
valuation | The process of estimating a dollar value for an amenity or a disamentity.
welfare | Broadly defined, welfare is well-being.
willingness to accept | The amount of money you would have to pay someone to compensate them for a deleterious change.
willingness to pay | The amount of money someone is willing to pay for something good.