Cost-Benefit Analysis as an Expression of Liberal Neutrality

2020 ◽  
pp. 187-253
Author(s):  
Joseph Heath
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Public Philosophy ◽  
Steady Creep ◽  
Liberal Neutrality ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past

The past few decades have seen an expansion in the use of cost-benefit analysis as a tool for policy evaluation in the public sector. This slow, steady creep has been a source of consternation to many philosophers and political theorists, who are inclined to view cost-benefit analysis as simply a variant of utilitarianism and consider utilitarianism to be completely unacceptable as a public philosophy. The chapter shows that this impression is misleading. When construed narrowly, cost-benefit analysis does look a lot like utilitarianism. However, when it is seen in its broader context, in the way that it is applied, and the types of problem to which it is applied, it is better understood as an attempt by the state to avoid taking sides with respect to various controversial conceptions of the good.

The Social Cost of Carbon

2021 ◽  
pp. 182-229
Author(s):  
Joseph Heath
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Social Cost Of Carbon ◽  
Public Philosophy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social

The past few decades have seen an expansion in the use of cost-benefit analysis as a tool for policy evaluation in the public sector. This slow, steady creep has been a source of consternation to many philosophers and political theorists, who are inclined to view cost-benefit analysis as simply a variant of utilitarianism, and consider utilitarianism to be completely unacceptable as a public philosophy. This chapter attempts to show that this impression is misleading. Despite the fact that when construed narrowly, cost-benefit analysis does look a lot like utilitarianism, when seen in its broader context, in the way that it is applied, and the type of problems to which it is applied, it is better understood as an attempt by the state to avoid taking sides with respect to various controversial conceptions of the good.

Application of Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Health Services and the Special Case of Technologic Innovation

1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert E. Klarman
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Cost Effectiveness Analysis ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effectiveness Analysis

As an economic technique for evaluating specific projects or programs in the public sector, cost-benefit analysis is relatively new. In this paper, the theory and practice of cost-benefit analysis in general are discussed as a basis for considering its role in assessing technology in the health services. A review of the literature on applications of cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis to the health field reveals that few complete studies have been conducted to date. It is suggested that an adequate analysis requires an empirical approach in which costs and benefits are juxtaposed, and in which presumed benefits reflect an ascertained relationship between inputs and outputs. A threefold classification of benefits is commonly employed: direct, indirect, and intangible. Since the latter pose difficulty, cost-effectiveness analysis is often the more practicable procedure. After summarizing some problems in predicting how technologic developments are likely to affect costs and benefits, the method of cost-benefit analysis is applied to developments of health systems technology in two settings-the hospital and automated multiphasic screening. These examples underscore the importance of solving problems of measurement and valuation of a project or program in its concrete setting. Finally, barriers to the performance of sound and systematic analysis are listed, and the political context of decision making in the public sector is emphasized.

scholarly journals Cost-Benefit Analysis and Public Sector Trust

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward H. Stiglitz
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Analytical Procedure ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Welfare Cost ◽  
Trust Building ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
The Public

Eighty percent of Americans believe that government is run for “a few big interests” rather than the public interest. Rooted in notions of social welfare, cost-benefit analysis might be seen as an analytical procedure to flush out and discourage at least the most egregious abuses in lawmaking authority, thereby encouraging citizens to view their government as essentially pursuing some plausible notion of the public interest. Yet the extent to which cost-benefit analysis might fill this trust-building role is an unaddressed issue. Here, I conduct an experiment based on a (de)regulatory action in the environmental context to examine whether cost-benefit analysis might yield trust dividends. I find that cost-benefit analysis produces large increases in public sector trust, but only when paired with reasonableness review, and only among “elites.” This pattern of findings suggests that, without more, an agency declaration of cost justification is not credible, but that it may be made so through a form of reasonableness review. I discuss the contours of such review, and highlight perils if review is overly aggressive.

Cost Benefit Analysis and Investment in the Public Sector

1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-224
Author(s):  
P.W. GLASSBOROW ◽  
MARTIN S. FELDSTEIN
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
The Public

scholarly journals A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Vehicle Restriction Policy for Reducing Overtourism in Udo, Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suah Kim ◽  
Namjo Kim
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Cost ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Restriction Policy ◽  
The Social

Overtourism has given rise to conflict among various stakeholders. Accordingly, to control overtourism, the public sector has started to implement policies. Recently, Udo off Jeju Island in South Korea has begun experiencing overtourism; to prevent the situation from deteriorating, the public sector implemented a vehicle restriction policy. This study used a cost-benefit analysis framework to assess the social costs and benefits of the public policy to control overtourism in Udo. Through interviews and relevant data and documents, this study classified analysis items related to the policy that could be either a cost or benefit to different stakeholders. The social cost-benefit analysis showed that the net benefit increases, the longer the policy continues, thus ensuring it is adequate and feasible to implement the policy. An effective management public policy for the sustainability of the region’s tourism should always be promoted.

scholarly journals Defining the Public Interest in Relation to the Accountancy Profession: Some Perspectives

2013 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ardelean
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Complex Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Responsibility To Protect ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Democratic Principles

Abstract Confidence in accounting is conditional to justifying the legitimacy of the accountancy profession. To reinforce this confidence, IFAC issued a framework whose applicability is proposed to be verified through three criteria: a cost benefit analysis, adherence to democratic principles and processes, as well as the respect of cultural and ethical diversity. Hereby we analyzed the comments issued and found out that the complexity of the public interest notion makes it difficult to define, given its international reach. However, such a framework constitutes a step further to reinforcing the public's confidence. We conducted a complex analysis and pointed out the relevant aspects regarding the axiom of public interest, arguing that the commitment to society is the highest responsibility of the profession. As a conclusion, since accountants have a responsibility to protect the public interest while striving to progress with the interests of the profession, a concession between the two is indispensable.

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