The total economic value of Amazonian deforestation, 1978-1993

Abstract

National income accounting has been criticized because of its failure to encompass the notion of sustainability. Several studies address this problem through 'green' income accounting i.e. by adjusting conventionally measured GDP for reduction in a given country's 'stock' of natural resources. These studies generally base value on the unit net price of the resource. Other studies go beyond net price, emphasizing a natural resource's total economic value (TEV) - that is, its non-marketable as well as its marketable values. This paper combines the green income accounting and TEV approaches and applies the new framework to Brazil in order to assess the foregone economic benefits resulting from Amazonian deforestation. The results lend support to calls for greater policy emphasis on conservation of unique and irreplaceable ecosystems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.