| gen. |
cost-benefit analysis (The attempt to compare the total social costs and benefits of an activity, usually expressed in money terms. The costs and benefits concerned include not only direct pecuniary costs and benefits, but also externality, meaning external effects not traded in markets. These include external costs, for example pollution, noise, and disturbance to wildlife, and external benefits such as reductions in travelling time or traffic accidents. If total social benefits of an activity exceed total social costs this can justify public works such as motorway building, or subsidizing projects which are not privately profitable. If total social costs exceed total social benefits this can justify preventing projects such as building in green belts, even when these would be privately profitable. Because non-marketed costs and benefits are difficult to measure and evaluate, the results of cost-benefit analysis can be highly controversial. OE Alexander Demidov) |
