Total Economic Value

Economists often try to measure the value of things. In my case I am interested in using economics to help understand the value of surfing. A common criticism of this approach, beyond the philosophical question about the need to use money to value everything, is that the value of surfing for a day doesn't really capture the entire value of the experience. That is true.

The common techniques used to capture the non-market value of surfing (or other activities) capture a lower bound. The techniques attempt to measure the value of the direct use of the resource.

To try and put that value in context the Total Economic Value framework was established. The other components require non-market valuation techniques.

The illustration above shows the Total Economic Value framework, with examples for surfing.

Read more here and here.