Getting off the ladder: Disentangling water quality indices to enhance the valuation of divergent ecosystem services.

ABSTRACT: Many water quality valuation studies and Federal cost-benefit analyses build from pioneering work using a "water quality ladder" or a single water quality index (WQI) to characterize both current conditions and effects of policies. When policies lead to contrasting changes in valued ecosystem services like recreational fishing and swimming, analyses using a single ladder or index might obscure important underlying service trade-offs. We test for this effect using alternative approaches that separate water quality indices and value changes in distinct ecosystem services stemming from policies with small to moderate changes in water quality. The indices we test relate to nutrient loadings in Michigan's rivers, lakes, and Great Lakes. Our split-sample experiment compares economic values for t

SUBMITTER: Lupi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10160960 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature