Original Articles - Appraisal and rural economics
La stima del valore di opzione e del valore di esistenza delle risorse naturali: il caso del «Pinus leucodermis» del Pollino
Abstract
The economic evaluation of ecosystem services dates back as early as the fifties. Only recently, however, the assessment of non-use values has received duly attention in benefit-cost analysis. In this paper, after a review of the current state of the art of existence and option values theory, we estimate such values for Pinus leucodermis in the Pollino National Park, using close-ended single-bounded technique. The results are consistent with theoretical expectations. Moreover, their magnitude is non trivial: the option price is 81,000 ITL, while the existernce value is 123,000 ITL.