John V. Krutilla

John Vasil Krutilla (February 13, 1922 – June 27, 2003) was an American environmental economist, known for inventing the concept of existence value, the idea that undisturbed wilderness has economic value ("nonuse value").[1][2] According to Kenneth Arrow,

"John Krutilla can fairly be said to have created or stimulated most of the agenda of modern environmental economics. . . . He pioneered in developing the idea later called 'existence value,' the value generated by the mere existence of an amenity, such as an unspoiled wilderness or species of animal or plants."[3]

Krutilla was born in Tacoma, Washington;[4] his parents were farmers who had immigrated there from Slovakia.[5] After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Reed College in 1949, a master's degree from Harvard University in 1951, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1952. He worked from 1952 to 1955 at the Tennessee Valley Authority, before going to Resources for the Future where he worked until his retirement in 1988.[6]

Krutilla is perhaps most famous for his essay, "Conservation Reconsidered," in which he coined the idea of Existence value.[7][8]

With Allen V. Kneese, he was the inaugural winner of the Volvo Environment Prize in 1990.[4]

References

  1. ^ Brown, Gardner M.; Smith, V. Kerry; Munro, Gordon R.; Bishop, Richard (2016). "Early Pioneers in Natural Resource Economics". Annual Review of Resource Economics. 8: 25–42. doi:10.1146/annurev-resource-100815-095243. ISSN 1941-1340. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  2. ^ Pearce, David (November 2002). "An Intellectual History of Environmental Economics". Annual Review of Energy and the Environment. 27 (1): 57–81. doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.27.122001.083429. ISSN 1056-3466. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. ^ "John Krutilla", Washington Post, July 12, 2003.
  4. ^ a b Saxon, Wolfgang (July 20, 2003), "John Krutilla, 81, Economist Who Focused on Environment", New York Times.
  5. ^ Emmett, Ross B. (2010), "Krutilla, John Vasil (1922–2003)", The Biographical Dictionary of American Economists, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-975474-8.
  6. ^ "In Appreciation of John V. Krutilla, 1922-2003", Resources, October 2003.
  7. ^ Krutilla, John V. (1967), "Conservation Reconsidered", American Economic Review, vol. 57, pp. 777–786
  8. ^ Banzhaf, H. Spencer (2019), "The Environmental Turn in Natural Resource Economics: John Krutilla and 'Conservation Reconsidered'", Journal of the History of Economic Thought, vol. 41, pp. 27–46