Economic Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of Development Projects

It has always been thought that some level of pollution and waste is unavoidable in development projects. But no one has made much effort to quantify and assess the extent of this sort of damage. In this book a group of analysts from the Asian Development Bank and from the East West Center propose a means of constructing useful economic evaluations of the impacts of development projects on the environments in which they are constructed. This study demands the systematic evaluation of all the intentional and unintentional consequences of development initiatives before they are determined upon. It is essential reading for development economists, analysts and bankers. Originally published in 1986

Preface Authors' Foreword 1. Development Projects, their Impact on the Environment and the Role of Economic Analysis 2. The use of Environmental Assessment for Analyzing Impacts of Development Projects on Natural Resources and the Environment 3. Economic Measurement of Impacts on the Environment ? Theoretical Basis and Practical Applications 4. Generally Applicable Techniques 5. Potentially Applicable Techniques 6. Additional Methods of Valuing Environmental Impacts 7. The Limits to Economic Measurement of Environmental Impacts Appendix: Case Studies References Index

John A. Dixon is a Research Associate at the Environment and Policy Institute (EAPI) of the East – West Center, Honolulu. He is an economist and is the leader of the Institute’s applied economic analysis activities. Dr Dixon has extensive experience in Asia working with both national governments and international agencies., Richard A. Carpenter is also a Research Associate at EAPI. He is a chemist whose principal interest is environmental assessment., Louise A. Fallon and Paul B. Sherman are both Research Fellows at EAPI. Dr Fallon is an economist with a background in biology and a strong interest in resource management. Mr Sherman is also an economist and specializes in natural resource and environmental issues., Supachit Manopimoke is an East – West Center grantee from Thailand. She is a PhD candidate in agricultural and resource economics.