ABSTRACT
Knowledge of the economic value of wildlife (including fish, as used in this chapter) is useful in setting public policy about wildlife resources. Neoclassical economic methodology includes powerful tools for estimating the value of resources, including wildlife. But can these economic methods be applied to subsistence use of wildlife? Within the framework of economic efficiency and a competitive market economy, can we measure the value of subsistence harvests, and the value of wildlife kept for personal use? If this is possible in general, can we measure total as well as marginal value, and for which species and in which locations? Further, if reasonable estimates of economic value are possible within this framework, what then are the limitations of those estimates? This paper attempts to answer these questions.
