Market-price-based monetization

Upright uses market-price-based monetization (also known as observed preference -based monetization) to monetize benefits for impact categories for which no commonly accepted unit of measure and monetization factor exists, such as Meaning & Joy.

Market-price-based monetization includes the following steps:

1. Identification of anchor products: Identify products for which the price of the product can be used as a proxy of the value the product creates within a specific impact category, and determine their average price.

2. Relate monetary values of anchor-products to non-anchor products: Combining (a) estimates on the relative sizes of impacts for both anchor and non-anchor products and (b) prices of anchor products, produce estimates on the monetary value of impacts of non-anchor products.

A product can qualify as an anchor product for a particular impact category, if:

• It mainly creates value within that impact category

• The product has negligible external benefits (at least within the impact category of interest)

• Producers of the product use value-priced, rather than cost-based pricing

Examples of products that can and cannot be used as anchor products when monetizing benefits:

Category	Examples	Validity	Explanation
Broadly consumed goods	Literary fiction, music	✅ Yes	The price reflects the observed preference of a large, representative sample of the general public.
Luxury goods	Gold jewelry	❌ No	The price reflects the observed preference of a small minority. It is not representative of the general public.
Addictive substances	Alcoholic beverages	❌ No	Physical addiction is expected to increase the demand for the product.