A man in a dark blue suit and striped shirt in a forest. Photo. — The Bioeconomy concept is a great opportunity for both SLU and for social science, says Bengt Kriström. Photo: Mona Bonta Bergman

Giving value to the invaluable

Page reviewed: 20/04/2026

Economics is not just about money. Giving value to the invaluable is the focus of Bengt Kriström, Professor of Resource Economics at the Department of Forest Bioeconomy and Technology at SLU-Umeå, and a Senior Advisor for the Centre for Environmental and Resource Economics (CERE).

Could you describe your research and its impact on society?

“My primary research field is non-market valuation, which involves assigning economic value to goods and services that lack a market price. This is now a routine practice in the EU and forms the legal basis for natural resource damage settlements in the US.”

“A landmark application of this work was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement. Beyond the immediate cleanup, economists had to value the interim loss of recreation and environmental health. Using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) – a survey-based approach where subjects (typically) vote on tax increases for environmental protection – an estimate was obtained. The analysis utilized a non-parametric statistical method similar to one I developed, known as the "Kriström estimator," to infer the mean willingness-to-pay (WTP) with minimal assumptions about population distribution. Ultimately, this research contributed to a settlement where BP paid USD 8 billion for damages that otherwise might have gone uncompensated.”

Tell us about a project that demonstrates your interdisciplinary approach.

“I recently collaborated with the Gösta Ekman Lab (psychophysics) and mathematical statisticians to understand the valuation process itself. In a controlled "noise lab" experiment simulating Stockholm environments, we found that people’s monetary valuations are "magnetized" to a social lattice – meaning they report values in denominations of existing bills and coins rather than a continuous scale.”

“This phenomenon, which I named Belyaev’s Law, suggests that WTP is interval-valued rather than a single point. This finding, rooted in cognitive psychology, indicates that we must accept more uncertainty and report ranges in environmental valuation, as people find it difficult to map environmental quality precisely into money.”

How does your research relate to the One Health concept?

“One Health recognizes that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is interdependent. In welfare economics, we analyze this through utility, a subjective measure of well-being that includes environmental integrity and health. Economics begins with the insight that these resources are scarce, forcing us to make difficult choices.”

One Health recognizes that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is interdependent. In welfare economics, we analyze this through utility, a subjective measure of well-being that includes environmental integrity and health. Economics begins with the insight that these resources are scarce, forcing us to make difficult choices.”

“Social science can map the utility consequences of these choices to assist decision-makers. However, it is vital to remember Hume’s Law: science is descriptive, not prescriptive. A cost-benefit analysis provides information but is not a direct call for action; it is a tool to combine forces across disciplines for a better decision-making basis.”

What are the main challenges and opportunities in this field?

“A significant challenge is elevating the importance of social sciences and humanities within traditionally natural-science-oriented institutions like SLU. Decisions about scarce resources are made by people and affect people.”

“One contemporary opportunity is the new Bioeconomy platform, which is certainly much related to One Health. Hopefully, we will spend ample time on thinking about how to maximize welfare from re-shaping the molecule (i.e. cellulose) and not only thinking about clever ways to modify it. I think the Bioeconomy concept is a great opportunity for both SLU and for social science here, but social science needs to show that our methods adds value added. I doubt this can be done effectively without a significant investment on both sides in learning about each other.”

“The recent call from FORMAS on a Bioeconomy research school is a very useful architecture to promote understanding between fields, starting with the doctoral students. Hopefully SLU can play an important role in this endavour.”

Paper

Kriström, B. (2026) “Welfare Evaluations on a Social Lattice: Belyaev’s Law and the Geometry of Stated Preferences”, Working Paper, Presented at the Yuri Belyaev Memorial Conference, Department of Mathematics, Umeå University, 13 feb, 2026 and CERE Ammarnäs Winter Meeting, March 16, 2026.