The changing nature of economic value

This book deals with economic values in the broader context of science and in the specific context of natural and social systems. The aim of this book is to explain and contribute to solving the divergence between value in economic theory and in social reality, in particular the reality of indigenous Dayak societies in Kalimantan, Indonesia. An economic theory that does not account for the many goods and services provided by the environment - termed bad economics by Schumacher (1993) - is commonly believed to be the cause of environmental deterioration. Various valuation techniques have been developed in order to close this gap and to come up with a total economic value of ecosystems. The idea of Schumacher's critique and its reception is to correct the balance sheets with an improved system of valuation and accounting.