Final answer:
Environmental economists estimate the value of environmental goods and services by applying techniques to determine people's willingness to pay, often through contingent valuation methods involving surveys. This approach integrates environmental concerns into broader economic policies and recognizes the importance of monetizing non-market resources.
Step-by-step explanation:
In estimating a value for an environmental good or service, an environmental economist usually takes the strategy of applying techniques appropriate to the way people benefit from the good or service to generate willingness-to-pay values.
This method may involve a variety of approaches, including assessing the value people place on environmental goods and services through their willingness to pay for the preservation or improvement of these assets. Environmental economists often rely on contingent valuation methods, which typically involve surveys where individuals report their willingness to pay for specific environmental benefits, to capture the economic value of non-market resources.
Furthermore, environmental economics is an integral part of broader economic concerns, taking into account the well-being of all people and factoring in the effects of production on environmental pollution. It investigates how certain economic activities, such as big businesses or labor unions, influence society overall and how government policies might drive production and consumption decisions in consideration of environmental consequences. Hence, environmental economists develop methodologies for placing a monetary value on environmental goods and services that otherwise do not have a market price.