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Market-Based Instruments for Ecosystem Services between Discourse and Reality: An Economic and Narrative Analysis

Géraldine Froger, Valérie Boisvert, Philippe Méral, Jean-François Le Coq, Armelle Caron and Olivier Aznar
Additional contact information
Géraldine Froger: LEREPS (Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux), Manufacture des Tabacs, 21 allée de Brienne, 31042 Toulouse Cedex, France
Valérie Boisvert: IGD (Institut de géographie et durabilité), Université de Lausanne, Bâtiment Géopolis, Bureau 3522, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Philippe Méral: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, IRD, UMR GRED (IRD–Université Montpellier 3 Paul Valery), BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
Jean-François Le Coq: ART-Dev, CIRAD, 73 rue Jean-François Breton, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
Armelle Caron: AgroParisTech ENGREF, 19 Avenue du Maine Paris Cedex 15, 75732 Paris, France

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, the concept of ecosystem services has become increasingly popular in academic circles and among decision-makers. Because of its inclusive character, this concept has given rise to different interpretations in economics. Since its inception, it has been associated with the development of market-based instruments (MBIs) in conservation policies. From this perspective, the sustainable provision of ecosystem services is hindered by market failures (e.g., public good attributes, externalities) and prices that do not capture the full value of the natural assets. MBIs are therefore recommended. According to their promoters, they provide powerful incentives to conserve the environment while at the same time offering new sources of income to support rural livelihoods. Our paper contends that different economic narratives, and associated representations of the market failure at stake with the provision of ecosystem services, may support different policy instruments that are all coined as MBIs. As an illustration, we analyze the economic discourse underlying payments for ecosystem services and eco-labels, and we underline the variety of institutional forms to which they give rise in order to emphasize the differences between discourse and practice.

Keywords: market-based instruments; ecosystem services; externalities; joint products; narratives; payments for ecosystem services; environmental certification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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