Cost-Benefit Analysis for Project Appraisal

Per-Olov Johansson, Bengt Kriström

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781107121027
• eBook ISBN:
  9781316490723
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic Policy
• Index: Economics

Written by two leading experts, this is a compact guide to the key tools and methods necessary to carry out cost-benefit analysis (CBA). The authors use modern economic tools to obtain general equilibrium cost-benefit rules that can be used to evaluate small projects, as well as large and even mega projects. Intertemporal issues like discounting, the shadow price of capital, and the treatment of risk are covered, and a state-of-the-art summary of available methods for the valuation of unpriced commodities is also included. In addition, the book provides detailed expositions of the marginal cost of public goods (MCPF), the marginal excess burden of taxes (MEB), and second-best evaluation rules, and shows how these concepts are interrelated. The importance of undertaking due diligence in evaluations is highlighted. This is an excellent toolkit for graduate students learning about the principles of CBA, and is a useful guide for government officials and policymakers.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of illustrations
• List of tables
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 The basic cost–benefit (C–B) model
• 3 Market distortions
• 4 Intertemporal generalization
• 5 Natural resources
• 6 Small versus large projects
• 7 Aggregation
• 8 Appraisal in a risky world
• 9 Notes on estimation techniques
• 10 A smörgåsbord of further topics
• 11 Robustness checks and due diligence in evaluations
• References
• Index