The Economics of Non-Human Animals

This Open Access volume sheds light on the economic role and true value of non-human animals in the global economy. Animals have been a pillar of human prosperity since the dawn of civilization. From early hunting and domestication to their roles in agriculture, science, transportation, war, and entertainment, animals have shaped our world. Today, their contributions span from providing food and energy to supporting ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. 

Despite their importance, animals remain overlooked in economic studies. This book addresses this gap, exploring the economic roles of animals, analyzing demographic trends, reassessing their true economic value—including their intrinsic worth and the full measure of their contributions and suffering—and proposing innovative ways to reflect this in economic decision-making. This comprehensive volume connects economics and other fields, applying research on the valuation of Nature to non-human animals.

The book explores economic policy and regulatory policy solutions to help recognize animal agency and ecological interdependence, presenting examples of how more humane, animal-free systems can reduce inefficiencies, spark innovation, and enhance both ecological and economic resilience. It will appeal to scholars, students, and researchers of economics and across other disciplines, as well as to policy-makers interested in a better understanding of the role of natural capital in economies, and specifically, the contributions of non-human animals to economic growth and stability. 

“ This pioneering collection of essays  raises an issue that economists have ignored for far too long: How are we to include non-human animals in economic evaluations of policies and practices? Fortunately, interest in this important question is now growing rapidly. The essays brought together in this volume sketch the outlines of a rich and extensive new field of thought.” 
—  Peter Singer , Emeritus Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University; Visiting Professor, National University of Singapore; author of  Animal Liberation  and  Animal Liberation Now .