Valuing ecosystem diversity in South East Queensland: A life satisfaction approach
Survey
HILDA
Author(s)
Date Issued
2012-10
Publisher
Asia Pacific Centre for Sustainable Enterprise
Pages
1-22
Keywords
Non-market valuation
Biodiversity
Life satisfaction
Ecosystem diversity
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to use the life satisfaction approach to value ecosystem diversity in the South East Queensland bioregion. A respondent’s self-reported life satisfaction is a function of a number of socio-economic and demographic characteristics (including income) and is hypothesised to be a product of the degree of ecosystem diversity in an individual's local area. Results indicate that high levels of ecosystem diversity, ceteris paribus, increase self-reported life satisfaction. Specifically, we find that a one-unit improvement in ecosystem diversity is equivalent (in life satisfaction terms) to an increase in household income per annum of approximately AUD $11,000.
ISBN
ISSN 1839-6356
Subject Keywords
DSS Main category
Type
Reports and technical papers
