The Economics of Non-Human Animals

Beschreibung

This Open Access volume sheds light on the economic role and true value of non-human animals in the global economy. Animals have been a pillar of human prosperity since the dawn of civilization. From early hunting and domestication to their roles in agriculture, science, transportation, war, and entertainment, animals have shaped our world. Today, their contributions span from providing food and energy to supporting ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. 

Despite their importance, animals remain overlooked in economic studies. This book addresses this gap, exploring the economic roles of animals, analyzing demographic trends, reassessing their true economic value—including their intrinsic worth and the full measure of their contributions and suffering—and proposing innovative ways to reflect this in economic decision-making. This comprehensive volume connects economics and other fields, applying research on the valuation of Nature to non-human animals.

The book explores economic policy and regulatory policy solutions to help recognize animal agency and ecological interdependence, presenting examples of how more humane, animal-free systems can reduce inefficiencies, spark innovation, and enhance both ecological and economic resilience. It will appeal to scholars, students, and researchers of economics and across other disciplines, as well as to policy-makers interested in a better understanding of the role of natural capital in economies, and specifically, the contributions of non-human animals to economic growth and stability. 

“This pioneering collection of essays raises an issue that economists have ignored for far too long: How are we to include non-human animals in economic evaluations of policies and practices? Fortunately, interest in this important question is now growing rapidly. The essays brought together in this volume sketch the outlines of a rich and extensive new field of thought.” 
— Peter Singer, Emeritus Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University; Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore; author of Animal Liberation and Animal Liberation Now.

This Open Access volume sheds light on the economic role and true value of non-human animals' in the global economy. Animals have been a pillar of human prosperity since the dawn of civilization. From early hunting and domestication to their roles in agriculture, science, transportation, wars, and entertainment, animals have shaped our world. Today, their contributions span from providing food and energy to supporting ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. 

But animals are more than commodities—they are indispensable economic agents whose labor and agency have shaped the very foundations of our economic systems. This book honors their lives and contributions, and calls for a reassessment of their full worth: economically, ecologically, and ethically. Documenting how animals remain overlooked in economic studies, this book addresses this gap, by exploring their contributions in today’s economies, reassessing their true economic value, and proposing innovative ways to reflect this in economic decision-making. Covering all sectors of human-animal economic interaction, this comprehensive volume connects economics with other disciplines, applying frontier research on the valuation of nature to non-human animals.

The book also explores economic policy and regulatory solutions to help recognize animal agency and ecological interdependence, presenting examples of how more humane, animal-free systems can reduce inefficiencies, spark innovation, and enhance both ecological and economic resilience. Essential for understanding our past and future, this book highlights the indispensable role of animals in a sustainable economy. It will appeal to scholars, students, and researchers of economics and across other disciplines, as well as to policy-makers interested in a better understanding of the role of natural capital in economies and, specifically,  the value and contributions of non-human animals to economic growth and stability. 

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Nicoletta Batini

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Open Access Green policy Animal welfare Commodity markets Economic development Livestock Economic advancement Economic value Policy solutions Agricultural output Global economy Human development Natural capital Economic decision-making Economic policy

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