Advancing ecosystem services auctions: Insights from an international Delphi panel
Logan Bingham,
Peter Boxall,
Riccardo Da Re,
Stuart Whitten,
Thomas Knoke and
José G. Borges
Ecosystem Services, 2024, vol. 69, issue C
Abstract:
Auction theory has made major contributions to overcoming allocation problems involving asymmetric information and common-pool resources, leading to multiple Nobel Prizes and serving as a foundation for multi-billion-dollar markets. Despite evidence that related mechanisms could enhance the performance of payments for ecosystem services (PES), adoption has been sporadic and inconsistent. One possibility is that the relevant peer reviewed literature has low visibility or consensus design elements are not sufficiently accessible to interested experts. To overcome this barrier, we adopt a straightforward approach: we asked the PES auction subfield to describe itself. In collaboration with an expert panel (n = 32) whose affiliations span more than two dozen universities and research bodies across three continents—including top-ranked economists, ecosystem services theorists, and practitioners with experience designing and implementing PES programs with and without auctions—we synthesize a birds-eye view of ecosystem services auctions for an interdisciplinary audience. Through an iterative, mixed-method Delphi consultation, we identify broad consensus about fundamental elements of theory and practice, including what functions auctions tend to perform well, common challenges, and key factors influencing their performance. By selecting topics that panelists appeared to disagree about for further discussion, we also highlight open questions and potential research frontiers. We conclude with a reflection on using the Delphi method to foster exchange between time-constrained experts.
Keywords: Payments for ecosystem services; Reverse auctions; Market-based instruments; Conservation tenders; Delphi method; Expert consultation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212041624000548
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:69:y:2024:i:c:s2212041624000548
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2024.101647
Access Statistics for this article
Ecosystem Services is currently edited by Leon C Braat
More articles in Ecosystem Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().