Value Of Benefits Research Articles

Analysis of the direct benefits of timber and fisheries in the mangrove forest of Babulu Laut Village, North Penajam Paser Regency

Background: Mangrove forests are one of the natural resources of coastal areas that have an important role in terms of social, economic, and ecological aspects. The values contained in mangrove forests can be evaluated economically using the economic valuation method. This study aims to determine the direct benefits and economic value of direct benefits from mangrove forests in Babulu Laut Village. Method: The time needed for this study is more or less effective starting from April 2023 – November 2023. The sampling technique or key respondents as many as 1 respondent and case respondents were carried out by accidental sampling as many as 41 respondents. Data processing and analysis using qualitative descriptive analysis methods and quantitative descriptive analysis with economic valuation methods. Data types are primary and secondary data. Result: From the results of this study shows that the direct benefits in the mangrove forest of Babulu Laut Village which has an area of approximately 1,000 ha, namely the benefits of wood and the benefits of fisheries consisting of the benefits of fish, shrimp, crabs and seaweed. The total value of direct benefits of mangrove forests in Babulu Laut Village is Rp.404,069,141,162.00 per year, this value consists of wood benefits with income of Rp.69,166,666,667 per year, fish with income of Rp.40,085,011,187.00 per year, shrimp with income of Rp.63,932,374,635.00 per year, crabs with income of Rp.34,075,518,808.00 per year, seaweed with income of Rp.196,809,569,866.00 per year. Conclusion: The greatest value of direct benefits is obtained from seaweed products, while the smallest income comes from crab benefits. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study presents the comprehensive economic valuation of the direct benefits of mangrove forests. It provides an in-depth understanding of the economic contribution of various mangrove forest products to local communities. The findings provide an empirical basis for decision-making in sustainable mangrove forest management by highlighting the economic potential that needs to be optimally exploited, particularly in the seagrass sector.

Beyond meta-studies: Learnings from a large multi-site primary dataset on non-tangible benefits of nature-based solutions

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) are growing in popularity as approaches for, among others, the reduction of hydro-meteorological risks. However, their uptake is still slow despite the recognition of their role in enabling a smarter, more systemic, and faster adaptation to climate change. Uncertainties regarding the valuation and subsequent economic feasibility of NBS are deemed to be a substantial barrier to their uptake. The monetary valuation of the non-tangible benefits of NBS (e.g., increased recreation and enhanced biodiversity) is seen as a plausible strategy to get closer to providing a holistic assessment. However, the quantification of these non-tangible benefits is often not integrated into economic assessments of NBS, partly as methods that can be replicated across sites have been lacking. This situation risks leading to inconsistent and/or biased valuations, which may negatively influence or delay the prioritization of NBS. Thus, our study aims to collect primary data on the non-tangible benefits of NBS across different European study sites and to identify patterns in how the different types and contexts of NBS influence people's valuation. We applied a contingent valuation survey to six different peri‑urban NBS study sites, where the focus is on the reduction of hydro-meteorological risks. The target of the survey was the general public, and we used willingness-to-pay questions to quantify the value given by the respondents to the NBS. Our results highlighted that people value the multiple benefits of NBS, and positively react to implementations improving nature across all sites. Moreover, similar variables seem to influence the value attributed to NBS across sites, with income and personal preferences ranking highly among them. These insights indicate that decision-makers and NBS-planners can learn more broadly from past experiences from a variety of (cultural) contexts, which can assist in delivering more targeted and multi-functional NBS.

Public Benefits Valuation of Dynamic Green Roof Stormwater Retention

Public Benefits Valuation of Dynamic Green Roof Stormwater Retention

The Effect of Managerial Ability on the Market Valuation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

This study examines the effect of managerial ability on the market valuation of unrecognized tax benefits (UTBs). While UTBs are generally associated with significant risks, we hypothesize that highly able managers can enhance the market valuation of the UTBs through their ability and efforts to report high-quality UTBs and retain the economic benefits of tax strategies. Consistent with our expectations, we find that managerial ability positively moderates the relationship between UTBs and firm values. Our additional analyses show that highly able executives can reduce firms’ future overall tax risk and tax settlements. Collectively, our findings suggest that the stock market values UTBs positively in firms managed by highly capable executives who can minimize tax risks while lowering tax payments.

Valuing resources in Thailand using the budget constraint method

This study develops comprehensive monetary conversion factors for Thailand to apply in life cycle assessment (LCA) in order to account for environmental externalities associated with products and services. An innovative methodology integrates resource scarcity alongside six determinants within the budget constraint approach to derive lacking economic production factors. The estimated potential gross economic production per capita represents the willingness to pay for alleviating damages. Impact assessment data is then monetized into quality adjusted life years, biodiversity adjusted hectare years, and monetary values. The resulting factors enable consistent valuation of environmental costs and benefits of products and services alongside techno-economic aspects. The outcomes are relevant to sustainability assessment and reporting needs by offering localized means to quantify dependencies and externalities. Application of developed monetary conversion factors to energy, transport, industry, infrastructure, and tourism sectors can internalize environmental impacts from production and consumption activities. The methodology provides policymakers and businesses with a holistic measure to make informed decisions aligned with sustainability goals and resilient economic growth. By reconciling development with resource conservation, this research aims to steer decisions that improve societal well-being and economic growth in balance with the planet.

Accounting for nature contributions to people in corporate sustainability: The case of a waste management company in Portugal

AbstractNature's contributions to people (NCP) are contributions of natural capital to people's quality of life, being at the center of political and societal concern. There is an increasing recognition of businesses' responsibility toward conservation and responsible use of natural capital. In this exploratory study, we identified gains of corporate investments on natural capital, focusing on LIPOR, a waste management company that closed and converted a dumpsite into a multifunctional Urban Green Space. We gathered and reviewed available data and concluded that there are €113,020,478 in NCP benefits, from €7,760,032 business investments by LIPOR, roughly representing a positive cost–benefit ratio of 14, over 2 decades. Results suggest that well‐targeted business investments in natural capital can provide high rates of return associated with people's benefits. Our case study contributes to fulfilling a gap in business literature by deliberately linking rates of investment on natural capital with the valuation of NCP benefits.

Health benefits valuation in three‐generation households—the role of reciprocity

AbstractObjectiveThis study investigates preferences for family resource allocation on health in three‐generation families and examines whether reciprocity attitudes influence preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for reducing lifetime health risk.BackgroundEmpirical results of nonmarket valuation studies suggest that adults value improving their children's health more than their own. Such results are often explained by parental altruism, but self‐interest may also be involved.MethodA choice experiment valuation survey elicited respondents' preferences for lifetime risk reduction in coronary artery disease (CAD) and a psychometric scale assessed their reciprocal attitudes. Respondents were middle‐generation members of three‐generation households. To conduct the analysis a hybrid mixed logit model was used that enabled including psychological factors into a utility function derived from respondents' survey choices.ResultsReciprocal attitudes had distinct effects on the middle‐generation preferences for reducing family members' risk of CAD. The latent attitudes concerning reciprocity significantly affected the WTP for the health risk reduction for all family members. The impact of reciprocity on the valuation of CAD risk reduction for the respondent and the elderly parent was similar, but for the child, it was significantly higher.ConclusionsParents' higher WTP for improving children's health, at least partially, reflects strategic decisions related to reciprocal beliefs. Reciprocity also affects the evaluation of health benefits for elderly parents and middle‐aged respondents themselves.ImplicationsThese findings may have implications regarding the degree to which the so‐called “sandwich generation” can substitute for the government in the area of health and social care for the elderly.

Costs of plasmocytic myeloma therapy in the drug programme at a Regional Oncology Centre in Poland.

The rapidly growing market for drugs, including oncology and haemato-oncology drugs, is generating enormous financial expenditure for healthcare systems. In Poland, access to high-cost treatments is possible mainly within drug programmes, funded by public healthcare systems. The path of proceeding adopted in Polish regulations is similar to the solutions adopted in other countries. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the actual costs incurred by the treatment entity in the process of treating patients under the drug programme at the Regional Oncology Centre in Olsztyn, north-east Poland. The oncology drug programme B.54 'Treatment of patients with refractory or malignant plasmocytic myeloma' implemented at the Regional Oncology Centre in Poland between 2018-2021, was selected for the analysis. The choice of the B.54 programme was based on the small population of patients meeting the inclusion criteria for this programme, and the large number of diagnostic procedures stipulated in the drug programme description. On average, 25 patients were treated per year. The financial analysis used the financial categories related to hospital billing information. The costs were presented based on the purchasing power parity of money in 2021, i.e. 1 USD-inter is equivalent to 1.837 PLN. The flat rate form of financing medical services does not cover the actual costs of treatment. Providing patients with necessary medical services without their full coverage by the public payer, burdens the budget of the centre and may lead to indebtedness of the treatment entity. Without an increase in the valuation of benefits under drug programmes, corresponding to the actual costs of treatment, the expected increase in access to innovative therapies will be difficult to accomplish.

Demonstrating the value of beaches for adaptation to future coastal flood risk

Cost-effective coastal flood adaptation requires a realistic valuation of losses, costs and benefits considering the uncertainty of future flood projections and limited resources for adaptation. Here we present an approach to quantify the flood protection benefits of beaches accounting for the dynamic interaction of storm erosion, long-term shoreline evolution and flooding. We apply the method in Narrabeen-Collaroy (Australia) considering uncertainty in different shared socioeconomic pathways, sea-level rise projections, and beach conditions. By 2100, results show that failing to consider erosion can underestimate flood damage by a factor of 2 and maintaining present-day beach width can avoid 785 million AUD worth assets from flood damage. By 2050, the flood protection and recreational benefits of holding the current mean shoreline could be more than 150 times the cost of nourishment. Our results give insight on the benefits of beaches for adaptation and can help accelerate financial instruments for restoration.

Perspectives on valuing water quality improvements using stated preference methods

Improvements to the quality of freshwater rivers and lakes can generate a wide array of benefits, from “use values” such as recreational boating, fishing, and swimming to “nonuse values” such as improved outcomes for aquatic biodiversity. Bringing these nonmarket values into decision-making is crucial to determining appropriate levels of investment in water quality improvements. However, progress in the economic valuation of water quality benefits has lagged similar efforts to value air quality benefits, with implications for water policy. New data sources, modeling techniques, and innovation in stated preference survey methods offer notable improvements to estimates of use and nonuse benefits of improved water quality. Here, we provide a perspective on how recent applications of stated preference techniques to the valuation of the nonmarket benefits of water quality improvements have advanced the field of environmental valuation. This overview is structured around four key questions: i) What is it about water quality that we seek to value? ii) How should we design and implement the surveys which elicit individuals’ stated preferences? iii) How do we assess the validity of the findings provided by such studies? and iv) What are the contributions of these valuation exercises to public policy? In answering these questions, we make reference to the contributions provided by the papers in this Symposium.

How to Measure the Impact of Walking Accessibility of Suburban Rail Station Catchment Areas on the Commercial Premium Benefits of Joint Development

As the primary solution to the issue of high passenger traffic in urban areas, rail transit has a significant impact on the structural form of cities and regional development. Additionally, it has varying degrees of a premium effect on land value around stations. Current research on the factors influencing the premium effect of rail transit station areas mainly focuses on the macro level of the station area circle, with more attention given to the premium caused by distance and functional differences. Most research objects are typically urban center lines or stations. However, this study focuses on the core area of the station and concentrates on the impact of the construction of integrated station–city facilities on the choice of pedestrian routes and the enhancement of pedestrian accessibility. It also explores whether this enhancement is associated with the premium benefits of ancillary commercial development. To achieve this goal, this paper integrates models from several related studies to conduct a comprehensive assessment. Firstly, it uses a spatial panel econometric model to improve the classical characteristic price method model. It then combines the ideas and models of the cost–benefit analysis method, taking the Odakyu Odawara Line of the Japanese suburban railroad as an example. This analysis explores the mechanism and factors influencing the rent premium of commercial facilities in the suburban rail station area and systematically assesses the combined station–city facilities. The study evaluates the social benefits (enhanced walkability) and economic value (premium value added from commercial facilities) of the combined station–city facilities systematically. The results of the study show that (1) the premium benefits of suburban railroad station area commercial facilities are significantly related to the type of station–city combination facilities, combination mode, and walking time and weakly related to the location factor. Additionally, (2) the results of the cost–benefit valuation analysis based on the Ebina Station verify that a reasonable design of station–city combination facilities can effectively enhance the proximity of commercial facilities to the station and improve the walking accessibility, thus promoting the premium benefits. The study demonstrates that a reasonable design of the combined station and city facilities can effectively enhance the proximity of commercial facilities to the station and improve pedestrian accessibility, promoting premium benefits, which can quickly feed the construction cost of the station and achieve positive revenue in the short term. Therefore, the results of the study provide a quantitative reference for the planning and design of suburban stations.

Valuation of health benefits of green-blue areas for the purpose of ecosystem accounting: a pilot in Flanders, Belgium

In recent years, a vast amount of scientific literature has highlighted the benefits of nearby green space for physical and mental health, but the large variation in scope, methods and indicators used in these studies hampers the assessment of these benefits in the context of natural capital accounting. To our knowledge, this paper is one of the first studies to quantify and value these benefits in the context of natural capital accounting. A method was developed and applied to the Flemish Region in Belgium for 2013 and 2016. The physical supply and use accounts for health are based on a set of selected dose-effect relationships that quantify the impact of the availability of greenspace on seven specific indicators for physical and mental health, including mortality, cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes and depression. The indicator for green-blue areas is the percentage of green-blue areas in total land use, calculated for 0.5, 1 and 3 km radius from the residence, based on detailed land-use maps (10 m x 10 m) for Flanders, Belgium. The base-line data for mortality and illness are average data for the Flemish Region. These health impacts are weighted using Daly's (disability-adjusted life years) and aggregated. The total health benefits due to the availability of green-blue areas for the total Flemish population was estimated at almost 85,000 DALYs. This is 27% of the estimated total burden of disease in Flanders in 2016 for the seven selected diseases. The monetary accounts are based on a detailed assessment for mortality and morbidity of three different cost components, i.e. avoided medical costs (e.g. hospitalisation) and avoided absenteeism and welfare loss due to suffering and reduced life expectancy. Productivity gains from avoided absenteeism is valued, based on statistics on absenteeism for specific diseases for and labour market data from Belgium and account for 52% of the total monetary value of green spaces. Cost of illness is valued, based on market data and illness specific studies for Belgium or Europe and account for 36% of total values. Welfare gains from increased life expectancy are valued on the basis of European studies for the VOLY (value of a life year lost), based on the simulated exchange value for the willingness-to-pay for increased life expectancy. This accounts for 12% of the total monetary value of green space. The total monetary benefits amount to 464 Euro per inhabitant per year or 3 billion Euro per year for Flanders. This corresponds to 1.3% of the GDP, which reflects the importance of these benefits. The methodology is incomplete as not all health indicators are covered, mainly due to a lack of dose-effect relationships. The research priority for potential users of the accounts is a better indicator for contact with green space that does differentiate between ecosystems, their quality, accessibility or their use. This requires more systematic health impact studies that take these elements into account, as well as more systematic data on the daily use of green space by citizens. In the meantime, an additional set of condition accounts on these elements can be used, especially to follow changes in quality and use of green-blue areas over time.

Valuation of Equity-Linked Death Benefits on Two Lives with Dependence

The purpose of this paper is to investigate equity-linked death benefits for joint alive and last survivor individuals. Utilizing Farlie–Gumbel–Morgenstern (FGM) type dependency modeling framework, we first analyze the joint distribution of the couple (joint alive and last survival density) when marginal distributions follow mixed exponentials and weighted exponentials distributions. Then, we derive the price of the guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB) product. In addition, we provide closed analytical expressions of the price of some financial contingent claim contracts (classical and exotic options). Furthermore, we present some numerical results to support our theoretical results. We show in our numerical example that it is important to model the dependency between two lives (couple) since the price changes as the copula parameter changes.

Mathematical Model of Actuarial Valuation of Social Benefits in Latin America under IAS 19

Mathematical Model of Actuarial Valuation of Social Benefits in Latin America under IAS 19

Worker Valuation of Retirement Benefits

Worker Valuation of Retirement Benefits

The economic valuation of Gedo Natural Forest conservation benefits, Ethiopia

Forest ecosystem economic valuation is responsible for ecologically aware and reasonable gains to the country and particularly to the surrounding groups through different means. Thus, the central objective of this study was to analyze the economic valuation Gedo Natural Forest conservation benefits of using the contingent valuation method. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this study. The interview responses of 342 households nominated from three kebeles around Gedo natural forest were collected in purpose and random sampling procedures through a semi-structure questionnaire. The mean willingness to pay calculated by means of Krinsky–Robb technique after running of Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit Regression from the dichotomous choice format and open-ended questions was 24.97 and 23.91 birr per year, respectively. The outcomes of Tobit model show that the total livestock unit, total annual income of the household, and the amount of credit utilization are meaningful variables positively and significantly related to the likelihood of willingness to pay for the conservation benefits of Gedo natural forest. On the other hand, the households’ family size, the households’ age, and initial bid value were other important variables negatively and significantly influence households’ willingness to pay for the conservation benefits of Gedo natural forest. The liable body could, therefore, apply the scenario of willingness to pay in the study area, so that the Gedo natural forest could be conserved, measurable benefit to the households could be practical, and future awareness of respective household could be raised.

The Influence of Entrepreneurial Motivation on the Valuation of Socioeconomic Benefits of Business Incubator Functions

This paper aims to evaluate whether the reasons an entrepreneur starts a business influence their assessment of the contribution of business incubators to society. The influence of business incubator functions was found to be positively valued by entrepreneurs in the socioeconomic ecosystem, according to the results of our empirical SEM study. This study contributes in helping to understand the opinions that entrepreneurs have as protagonists in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, according to their reasons to start a business, on the functionality of incubators, and the sustainable contribution of such entities to socioeconomic benefits in society.

River Ecosystem Resilience: Applying the Contingent Valuation Method in Vietnam

Mine water drainage interferes with ecosystems of the discharging river, whilst river ecosystem services in return affect the livelihoods and well-being of adjacent communities. In Ha Long, Vietnam, surface coal mining will be closed after 2025 following the national and provincial strategy toward sustainable development. This opens up an opportunity to rehabilitate the associated rivers to increase resilience in the surrounding social-ecological system (SES) heavily affected by water pollution from coal mines. Increasing resilience through rehabilitation is costly and policy makers often lack precise enough information on public benefits to make good decisions. In this study, we apply the concept of SESs to analyze the interrelationship between river ecosystems and human society with its institutions and local governance surrounding the Ha Long coal mining area. Applying a contingent valuation survey with 410 households living near to the mining operations, we assess the public benefits resulting from three different but partly combined projects to increase resilience. Results show that households are significantly willing to contribute to all proposed resilience increasing projects. Factors explaining willingness to pay (WTP) are diverse and are found to be related to common institutions and local governance. Through a comparison of the results for the three projects, we find the presence of embedding effects and identify factors leading to upward biased estimates of WTP. Our study contributes to a better understanding and valuation of public benefits in SES necessary for public policy towards increasing resilience in developing countries.

Monetary valuation of the environmental benefits of green building: A case study of China

Reducing negative impacts on the environment is the main benefit of green buildings. However, these benefits are typically evaluated using environmental indicators with different units and implications. Thus, comparisons among different technologies and projects with various benefits are difficult to perform. Moreover, the impact of green building development on economic system is difficult to analyze because of the lack of available data. This study proposes a method of identifying, quantifying and valuing the environmental benefits of green buildings based on the contributions of typical technologies. The environmental benefits are fully identified based on the cause-effect chain associated with changes in environmental endpoints caused by green technologies. Then, a valuation method is proposed, and it consists of the following four steps: quantifying the technical indicators using the application criteria and green technology impacts, quantifying the environmental indicators using available and reliable research data, valuing the environmental benefits using appropriate monetary valuation methods, and calculating the lifecycle benefits using the discounted cash flow method. All projects accredited by the Chinese Assessment Standard of Green Building from 2008 to 2015 were evaluated using the environmental valuation method. The results showed that 75% of typical green technologies could reduce the negative impacts on the environment through different endpoints. The benefit per unit area was valued as ¥ 3138.1 on average. The majority of the benefits (48.36%) were produced by underground space utilization. The public green building produced more environmental value than the residential green building. Overall, the environmental benefits were sufficient to cover the incremental costs of green building. The results obtained by the proposed assessment method provide more comprehensive information to related sectors than the green level standards; moreover, the benefits obtained by different technologies and projects with various environmental impacts can be compared, and important input data can be obtained for analyzing the macroeconomic effects of green building development.

The recreational value of botanic garden events: A case study of the Zagara plant fair in Palermo, Italy

Botanic gardens are defined by their mission to maintain living plant collections for scientific research, conservation, display and education. This mission represents the potential ecosystem services that botanic gardens aim to produce, with display and education specifically regarding recreational ecosystem services (RES). Visitors must directly experience botanic gardens to transform these potential RES into real benefits, yet the public may not be interested in studying plants during their leisure time. Thus, botanic gardens turn to events to attract visitors. The objective of this study is to estimate the RES benefits created by a botanic garden event and profile the visitors that it brings into the garden. To do so, a questionnaire was distributed at the Zagara plant festival, held in Spring 2021 at the Palermo University Botanic Garden in Sicily (Italy). Respondents are local, young to middle-aged, mostly female, well-educated, upper to middle class and not accompanying children. Most came to the Zagara to observe, admire or purchase plants. Through the zonal Travel Cost Method (TCM), visitors' marginal consumer surplus is estimated to be 6.16 € and the event's total recreational value is estimated to be 26,464.21 €. The study took place during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and responses also indicate that the Zagara filled consequential visitor needs for outdoor social occasions. This study contributes to the literature on RES benefit valuation by applying the well-accepted TCM to the unexplored subject of special events in botanic gardens with the aim of supporting management decisions. • Botanic gardens are defined by their living plant collections, yet they are also important for human wellbeing; • Events bring many visitors into botanic gardens, and are responsible for creating social benefits in the form of recreational ecosystem services; • Garden managers often lack the resources to carry out complicated valuation procedures, but online survey and mapping platforms have made the zonal travel cost method a direct way to estimate the recreational benefits produced by an event, and understand who benefits; • Such valuations are necessary for gardens to plan events to increase social welfare, optimize ecosystem services and improve inclusiveness.