Cameron Hepburn
Nature in the balance

Nature in the Balance: The Economics of Biodiversity

with Helm, Oxford University Press, 2014


This book sets out the building blocks of an economic approach to biodiversity, and in particular brings together conceptual and empirical work on valuation, international agreements, the policy instruments, and the institutions. The objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the issues and evidence, and to suggest how this very urgent problem should be addressed. Whilst there has been an enormous growth and research focus on climate change, less attention has been paid to biodiversity. This collection of high-quality chapters addresses the economic issues involved in biodiversity protection.

This book focuses on the economics, but incorporates the science and philosophy, combining the application of a number of theoretical ideas with a series of policy cases. The authors are drawn from leading scholars in their specific areas of economics, philosophy, and conservation biology.

Edited by Dieter Helm, Professor of Energy Policy and Fellow in Economics, New College, University of Oxford, and Cameron Hepburn,  Professor of Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment and at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.

  • Addresses the economic and policy issues involved in biodiversity protection
  • Includes the best research in the field
  • Offers substantial theoretical and policy developments
  • Strong focus on policy solutions

Essential for: Scholars and students of economics, as well conservation biologists, environmentalists, and policymakers.