This report provides a critical review of the current state-of-the-art and future prospects of estimating benefits of air and water pollution control. This report represents three independent critiques by three experts of benefit assessment methodologies. Specific aspects discussed include the nature and role of benefits, damage functions, valuation of effects, aggregation of results, and representation of uncertainties. The conceptual foundations of estimating pollution control benefits were presented and compared with empirical studies. It was concluded that while available estimates often do not adequately reflect the state-of-the-art, estimates of pollution control benefits would potentially be very useful to decision makers. The conceptual basis provided by economic theory for benefit estimation is adequate in most respects and far ahead of the corresponding empirical effort. A number of studies are guilty of failing to list explicitly critical assumptions or to express adequately uncertainty in the results while other studies have employed conceptual models that are inappropriate to the problem at hand or the available data. Damage functions underlying benefit estimates are frequently based on insufficient data and/or inadequate characterization of exposure and effects. National benefit estimates were found to be based on regional studies which are frequently inadequate in number and/or quality.

"June 1978." "Contract No. 68-01-2821." "Project Officer Thomas E. Waddell." Includes bibliographical references.