Costs Benefits Rules when Nature Counts

Abstract

This paper analyses normative implications of relaxing the conventional welfare economics assumptions anthropocentrism and welfarism, i.e. that only human well-being counts intrinsically, combined with various types of non-selfish individual preferences. Social decision rules are derived for the optimum provision of a public good (environmental quality). It is shown that in several cases analysed, the basic Samuelson rule still holds, in terms of aggregate marginal willingness to pay.