VALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES. IN: HANDBOOK OF TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Transportation impacts on the environment are complex and multifaceted, arising from emissions, noise, land use, or traffic accidents. These primary impacts follow complex pathways to generate effects on end-points that affect economic well-being. Some of these end-points are clearly linked to economic systems and have links to market values, while other end-points have economic value that is not captured by the marketplace. These non-market or environmental values are controversial as their value is not apparent in market transactions, yet these values can be very large and the major drivers behind environmental policy. While the physical relationships between transportation and the environment have been widely studied, the relationship between transportation, environmental impacts, and economic analysis has received less attention. However, this linkage is necessary for an analysis of policy options since economic analysis can make measures of environmental impact commensurate with measures of infrastructure costs or investments. This chapter focuses on non-human health environmental effects emanating from transportation.