Welfare Science

National Accounting Welfare Economics

Incorporating animal welfare into national accounts and economic metrics would make the welfare costs of animal use visible in policy-making and enable better decision-making.

Key Facts

GDP and standard economic metrics do not capture animal welfare as a cost or benefit
Welfare economics approaches attempt to assign value to animal experiences
Some economists have proposed animal welfare adjustment factors for national accounts
Livestock sector GDP contribution does not account for welfare externalities
Including welfare costs would change relative economic valuations of production systems

Welfare Considerations

Current economic frameworks make animal welfare invisible in national accounting, allowing its costs to be externalised. Developing welfare-adjusted economic metrics is a technically and politically challenging but potentially transformative goal for improving animal welfare through policy.

What You Can Do

Support academic research into welfare economics and national accounting
Engage with policy discussions about natural capital accounting to include animal welfare
Advocate for welfare externality pricing in agricultural policy
Share information about welfare economics approaches with policy-makers
Support think tanks and organisations working on animal welfare policy economics