The Transfer of Benefit Measures: The Applicability Conditions and the Results

The benefit transfer refers to the use and adaptation of benefit measures obtained for a specific site (study site), to assess the benefits in another site (policy site), for which no original valuation is possible. Relying on relatively simplicity of application, and allowing saving time and money for the implementation, it represents a ‘second best’ solution and a valid alternative to the disregarding environmental economic values. The literature broadly agrees in considering two main approaches to benefit transfer: the transfer of a value or of a benefit function. The choice of the more suitable approach relies on the number of potential primary studies, the similarity degree between the study and the policy sites, on the purposes of the assessment and on the accuracy required. In this paper, the phases of conducting benefit transfer are outlined, highlighting the conditions for the transfer process and its limitations. Finally, the possible transfer errors related to incorrect transfer are reported and discussed