Welfare Science

Welfare Economic Valuation Methods

Welfare economists are developing methods to assign economic value to animal welfare outcomes, potentially enabling welfare to be incorporated into cost-benefit analyses.

Key Facts

Contingent valuation surveys measure willingness-to-pay for animal welfare improvements
Hedonic pricing can estimate welfare values from market data
Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) have been adapted for animal welfare as DAWYS
Welfare economic valuation studies show significant consumer willingness-to-pay for welfare
Incorporating welfare costs in food pricing would significantly shift consumption patterns

Welfare Considerations

Economic valuation of animal welfare enables welfare to be included in policy cost-benefit analyses that currently ignore it. While methodologically challenging, welfare economics provides tools to make animal suffering visible in economic decision-making, potentially transforming policy outcomes.

What You Can Do

Support welfare economics research and its application to policy
Engage with organisations using economic arguments for animal welfare
Advocate for inclusion of welfare costs in agricultural policy analysis
Learn about welfare valuation methods and their limitations
Support think tanks and researchers working on animal welfare economics