ABSTRACT
Using market data, economists can estimate the benefits consumers and producers obtain from marketed goods and services. In traditional environmental economic analysis, however, the notion of 'value' is generally not based on ethical or philosophical grounds. In standard economic theory, nature has value only because humans ascribe some value to it. Benefits not obtained from goods and services sold in markets. The maximum amount of money people are willing to pay for a good or service that increases their well-being. In 1997 a controversial paper estimated the total economic value of the world's ecosystems. Economists have developed a classification scheme to describe the various types of values that we place on the environment. Direct-use value is obtained when we make a deliberate decision to use a natural resource. Indirect-use values are tangible benefits obtained from nature, but without any effort on our part. Replacement cost methods can be used to estimate the indirect use value of ecosystem services.
