Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one of the most useful tools of applied economics for the social appraisal of public projects and government policies. Nick Hanley and Edward Barbier show how CBA can be applied to environmental policy choice and environmental resource management. They cover the conceptual underpinnings of CBA, practical methods for applying CBA, and a wide range of case study applications from Europe, North America and developing countries. Issues such as the value of ecosystem services and the special problems posed for CBA by environmental management are brought into close focus.

The textbook is aimed at students on inter-disciplinary courses as well as those studying environmental economics, welfare economics and public policy. It will also be of interest to people in the policy community, NGOs and consultancy sectors.

1. Introduction PART Ⅰ THE TOOLS 2. The theoretical Foundations of CBA 3. Stated preference approaches to environmental valuation 4. Revealed preference methods (1) : the travel cost model 5. Revealed preference methods (2) : Hedonic pricing 6. Valuing the environment: production function approaches 7. Discounting and the discount rate 8. CBA in developing countries: what's different? PART Ⅱ CASE STUDIES 9. Valuing ecosystem services 10. Costs and benefits of water quality improvements 11. Valuing habitat protection 12. Cost-benefit analysis and renewable energy 13. The strengths and weaknesses of environmental CBA Index