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Subjective Well-Being Approach to Environmental Valuation: Evidence for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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  • Beja Jr., Edsel L.

Abstract

The subjective well-being approach to environmental valuation is applied to analyze the valuation of greenhouse gas emissions. Dimensions like population and income are then incorporated into the valuation to get the fairness-adjusted marginal value of emissions. The results indicate that the industrialized countries have high willingness-to-pay to reduce emissions with the United States and Japan reporting the largest figures. Developing countries differ in their valuations, albeit they are not subject to the mandatory reductions of emissions, but still the results indicate that poor countries like China and India indicate willingness to pay whereas Brazil and Mexico indicate willingness to accept payments to reduce emissions. The high willingness-to-pay indicated by the industrialized countries does not imply that they can pay off the developing countries to continue emitting as usual. However, the different modes of willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-accept of countries indicate possibilities toward the formation of an inter-group payments and transfers system to allow societies to contribute toward global reduction emissions reduction. Part of the payments from the industrial countries could be used to support global programs to change the patterns of production and consumption and accelerate the development of cleaner technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Beja Jr., Edsel L., 2011. "Subjective Well-Being Approach to Environmental Valuation: Evidence for Greenhouse Gas Emissions," MPRA Paper 27862, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:27862
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    Cited by:

    1. Arik Levinson, "undated". "Happiness and Air Pollution," Working Papers gueconwpa~20-23-10, Georgetown University, Department of Economics.
    2. Arik Levinson, 2020. "Happiness and air pollution," Chapters, in: David Maddison & Katrin Rehdanz & Heinz Welsch (ed.), Handbook on Wellbeing, Happiness and the Environment, chapter 9, pages 164-182, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Edsel Beja Jr., 2013. "Subjective Well-Being Approach to the Valuation of International Development: Evidence for the Millennium Development Goals," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 141-159, March.
    4. Beja, Edsel Jr., 2016. "Subjective Well-Being Approach to Valuing Unemployment: Direct and Indirect Cost," MPRA Paper 101080, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Beja, Edsel Jr., 2019. "Consumer Expectations Survey and Quarterly Social Weather Survey: Evidence of Convergent Validity and Causality," MPRA Paper 101074, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Iddisah Sulemana, 2016. "Are Happier People More Willing to Make Income Sacrifices to Protect the Environment?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(1), pages 447-467, May.
    7. Yenniel Mendoza & Roger Loyola & Alonso Aguilar & Roberto Escalante, 2019. "Valuation of Air Quality in Chile: The Life Satisfaction Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 367-387, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Subjective well-being; happiness research; greenhouse gas emissions; environmental valuation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General

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