Accounting for What We Treasure

Author(s):  
Sheila Ellwood

Recent attempts to include and assess public heritage in the accounts of governments and charities are controversial. There are many kinds of value, not merely financial, and various measurement bases. This chapter examines why and how we account (if at all) for heritage assets bringing out the surrounding controversy. Is public heritage an asset that should be included in the reported wealth of public bodies and nations? The economic valuation methods, revealed preferences and stated preferences are the economic valuation methods investigated and considered in relation to the decisions to be made on public heritage. Although the conceptual and practical problems surrounding valuation and reporting of public heritage are immense, pragmatic solutions should be sought. Multidisciplinary approaches are necessary to make informed decisions on management, financing, and the allocation of resources for public heritage.

2021 ◽  
pp. 136-141
Author(s):  
Oleg Letov ◽  

This review examines such ethical categories as respect for patient freedom, paternalism, protection of the patient's interests, the principle of sustainability, justified allocation of resources, etc. It is noted, in particular, that, according to the principle of equitable distribution of medical resources, everyone gets what they deserve, in accordance with health needs and no one is discriminated against based on individual characteristics such as gender, socioeconomic status or age. Under the principle of patient freedom, people have the right to make informed decisions of their own, including with regard to voluntary vaccination programs.


Author(s):  
Zuzana Sarvašová ◽  
Miroslav Kovalčík ◽  
Zuzana Dobšinská ◽  
Jaroslav Šálka ◽  
Vilém Jarský

AbstractThis literature review deals with the understanding of ecosystem services related to the question of their applicability and appropriate methods for their valuation. We distinguish between ecological valuation methods that aim to assess the significance of landscape characteristics, conventional economic, i.e. monetary valuation and non-monetizing valuation or assessment. Ecological evaluation methods derive values by following a cost of production approach which neglects consumer preferences. Economic valuation methods focus on the exchange value of ecosystem services, i.e. they are based on consumer preferences, but do not adequately take into account the complex internal structure of ecosystems. We conclude that – from the view of implementation of ecosystem services for policy support and consulting – successful valuation approaches should particularly consider the relationships between economic, ecological and social aspects of ecosystem services’ provision.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Lima Marques ◽  
Aracéli Cristina de S. Ferreira ◽  
Hélio Arthur Irigaray

The aim of the present study was to verify how accountants perceive the electric power companies in Brazil, regarding the use of economic valuation methods for measuring environmental impacts on hydroelectric power generation. These methods would be used in the internalisation of impacts in compliance with accounting theory criteria of recognition, measurement and disclosure of relevant economic activities. This is an exploratory study based on the conclusion regarding the collected data from a questionnaire answered by accountants, who worked in the electric power sector and were members of the Brazilian Electric Power Sector Accountants Association (ABRACONEE). The research showed that 74% of respondents were accountants or accounting analysts, 92% of them believed that companies should account for (internalise) environmental impacts caused by their activities, and 75% of them believed that this task should be based on detailed and specific norms determining what should be done and when and how to do it. Despite their high level of accounting knowledge and complete familiarity with the changes determined by the Brazilian Securities Commission, respondents adopted a conservative stance in relation to the use of estimated values or those obtained in hypothetical markets. The study revealed the existence of a vast field of research that has yet to be explored by accounting in the field of environmental accounting, especially in terms of both measurement and recognition of environmental impacts caused by diverse economic activities.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e8749
Author(s):  
Bartosz Bartkowski ◽  
Stephan Bartke ◽  
Katharina Helming ◽  
Carsten Paul ◽  
Anja-Kristina Techen ◽  
...  

The concept of ecosystem services, especially in combination with economic valuation, can illuminate trade-offs involved in soil management, policy and governance, and thus support decision making. In this paper, we investigate and highlight the potential and limitations of the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services to inform sustainable soil management and policy. We formulate a definition of soil-based ecosystem services as basis for conducting a review of existing soil valuation studies with a focus on the inclusion of ecosystem services and the choice of valuation methods. We find that, so far, the economic valuation of soil-based ecosystem services has covered only a small number of such services and most studies have employed cost-based methods rather than state-of-the-art preference-based valuation methods, even though the latter would better acknowledge the public good character of soil related services. Therefore, the relevance of existing valuation studies for political processes is low. Broadening the spectrum of analyzed ecosystem services as well as using preference-based methods would likely increase the informational quality and policy relevance of valuation results. We point out options for improvement based on recent advances in economic valuation theory and practice. We conclude by investigating the specific roles economic valuation results can play in different phases of the policy-making process, and the specific requirements for its usefulness in this context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 183 ◽  
pp. 01002
Author(s):  
Aya Jamouli ◽  
Khali Allali

Ecosystems provide vital services that improve and support livelihoods and human well-being. Consequently, scientific research on ecosystem services (ES) has increased, over the past two decades globally, as well as in Africa. This study provides an overview of existing economic ES valuation methods in Africa using the Web of Science databases. The results highlighted that South Africa recorded the high number of ES valuation publications. The most evaluated ES category was provisioning then regulating services. In terms of economic valuation methods, the market price was the most popular, followed by the contingent valuation and the choice experiment methods. Recommendations are provided for future research in this filed.


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