Economic Evaluation of Environmental Interventions: Reflections on Methodological Challenges and Developments.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Economics
• Public Policy Analysis
• Health Economics

Background:

• Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is crucial for resource allocation in public policy.
• Established CEA methods exist for pharmaceuticals, public health, and diagnostics.
• CEA application to natural environment (NE) interventions, like urban green spaces and air pollution reduction, is underdeveloped.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze the challenges in conducting cost-effectiveness analyses for NE interventions.
• To explore proposed solutions for these identified challenges.
• To inform the selection or development of appropriate economic evaluation frameworks for NE policies.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing economic evaluation methodologies.
• Identification of practical (data-related) and methodological challenges specific to NE interventions.
• Exploration of proposed solutions and their suitability for NE contexts.

Main Results:

• Significant practical and methodological challenges impede CEA for NE interventions.
• Existing CEA frameworks may require adaptation or a novel approach for NE policy evaluation.
• Understanding these challenges is key to advancing rigorous economic assessment in environmental policy.

Conclusions:

• There is a need for tailored economic evaluation frameworks for natural environment interventions.
• Addressing data and methodological challenges is essential for effective policy decisions.
• This work provides a foundation for selecting or developing appropriate CEA methods for NE policies.