Social Values in Economic Environmental Valuation: A Conceptual Framework

TY - JOUR

T1 - Social Values in Economic Environmental Valuation: A Conceptual Framework

AU - Massenberg, Julian R.

AU - Hansjürgens, Bernd

AU - Lienhoop, Nele

PY - 2023/10/1

Y1 - 2023/10/1

N2 - Economic environmental valuation remains a much debated and contested issue. Concerns have been voiced that it is unable to capture the manifold immaterial values of ecosystems due to conceptual and methodological issues. Thus, additional value categories (social values) as well as novel valuation approaches like deliberative (monetary) valuation are areas of growing interest, yet the theoretical foundations are rather weak. Against this background, this article aims to develop a consistent conceptual framework for making sense of social values in economic environmental valuation. Based on a holistic view of society and individuals, the role of institutions, the social environment, culture and transcendental values is emphasised. To synthesise diverging concepts of value into an economic concept and to account for the multidimensionality of social values, the framework consists of three spheres: social, natural and contextual. The novel framework demonstrates that social values may be integrated into a preference-based utility framework when denoting a holistic understanding of social preferences and human embeddedness in nature and society.

AB - Economic environmental valuation remains a much debated and contested issue. Concerns have been voiced that it is unable to capture the manifold immaterial values of ecosystems due to conceptual and methodological issues. Thus, additional value categories (social values) as well as novel valuation approaches like deliberative (monetary) valuation are areas of growing interest, yet the theoretical foundations are rather weak. Against this background, this article aims to develop a consistent conceptual framework for making sense of social values in economic environmental valuation. Based on a holistic view of society and individuals, the role of institutions, the social environment, culture and transcendental values is emphasised. To synthesise diverging concepts of value into an economic concept and to account for the multidimensionality of social values, the framework consists of three spheres: social, natural and contextual. The novel framework demonstrates that social values may be integrated into a preference-based utility framework when denoting a holistic understanding of social preferences and human embeddedness in nature and society.

KW - Social values

KW - deliberative monetary valuation

KW - environmental economic valuation

KW - human–nature relationships

KW - shared values

KW - value pluralism

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85170252200&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3197/096327123x16702350862728

DO - 10.3197/096327123x16702350862728

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0963-2719

VL - 32

SP - 611

EP - 643

JO - Environmental Values

JF - Environmental Values

IS - 5

ER -