Economic analysis of animal welfare interventions can strengthen the case for welfare reform by quantifying benefits in terms policymakers and businesses respond to.
Economic arguments for animal welfare improvement complement ethical arguments and can be persuasive in business and policy contexts where ethics alone is insufficient. Demonstrating that welfare improvements reduce costs, improve productivity, and meet consumer preferences builds a business case for reform. However, economic framing alone risks treating animal welfare as purely instrumental — welfare matters intrinsically regardless of economic justification.