Can economists value water's multiple benefits?

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
David F. Batten
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Classical Economic ◽  
Economic Tools ◽  
Economic Goods

If we recognize that water is not an ordinary economic good, we begin to understand why it is so difficult to assess and compare its many and varied benefits. Market instruments devised for conventional goods may not ensure that water is allocated efficiently and equitably. Classical economic tools, such as cost–benefit analysis, input–output analysis or equilibrium models, may not be able to embrace water's multiplicity of short, medium and long-term benefits. Only those parts of the water cycle close to intermediate and final users are usually treated as economic goods. If its vision is limited to linear, short run quantities and relationships, a computable model abstracts from a real world that we know is dynamic, nonlinear and co-evolutionary. Short run economic priorities for water policy tend to dominate over sustainable allocation and quality conservation in the longer run. There is a need to consider longer time horizons and the complex, dynamic character of water, if we are to meet the challenge of repairing Australia's seriously impaired natural waterways.

Discounting the Discount Rate: Ecocentrism and Environmental Economics

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Samuel Barkin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Discount Rate ◽  
Environmental Economics ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Environmental Goods ◽  
International Environmental Politics ◽  
Economic Tools ◽  
The Cost

As a tool for making decisions about long-term environmental policy, environmental economics does not work on its own terms. It works well as a tool for analyzing environmental policy given clear, exogenously defined costs and benefits. As such, environmental economics can work well as a tool for analyzing policy in the short term. But many of the most salient issues in international environmental politics are salient specifically because they have a fundamental long-term component. Economic tools have trouble pricing environmental goods, and the farther the cost element of cost/benefit analysis is projected into the future, particularly through the analytical tool of the discount rate, the less reliable estimates are likely to be. At a certain point, the compounding of this decreasing reliability makes the cost estimates analytically counterproductive. As such, this paper concludes that fundamental decisions about the relationship between economic activity and the natural environment in the long term need to be informed by ecocentric rather than economic thinking.

scholarly journals MEASURING THE EFFICIENCY OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

2020 ◽  
pp. 193-198
Author(s):  
A. N. Timokhovich ◽  
O. I. Nikuradze
Keyword(s):  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Long Term Effect ◽  
The Social ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Definition Of

The problems of measuring the efficiency of social entrepreneurship have been affected. The aim of the study is to identify the most relevant methods for measuring social value and evaluating the effects that arise as a result of the activities of social organizations. Various interpretations of the definition of the term “social entrepreneurship” have been given in the article. The main elements of the process of social entrepreneurship, features of the goal setting and risks of activities in the study area have been emphasized. The stages of planning activities in the field of social entrepreneurship have been described. The most common problems of measurements and evaluation of social effects that social entrepreneurs have to deal with in the process of carrying out activities related to the implementation of social projects: difficulty in achieving a quantitative evaluation, difficulty in predicting the long-term effect of activities, limitations on costs, time resources, indicators of accuracy and interpretation of results have been revealed. Problems in forecasting the effectiveness of social projects have been identified. The main methods that can be used by social entrepreneurs and organizations for measuring the social value and assessing impact of ongoing activities (method of cost-benefit analysis, method of social accounting, method of social return on investment, method of analysis of the main resources of efficiency) have been analysed. Recommendations for social entrepreneurs have been formulated.

scholarly journals Alternatives to groundwater abstraction as a measure to stop land subsidence: a case study of Semarang, Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 01003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley Beek ◽  
Bart Letitre ◽  
H. Hadiyanto ◽  
S. Sudarno
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Groundwater Abstraction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Treatment Services

The Water as Leverage project aims to lay a blueprint for urban coastal areas around the world that are facing a variety of water-related issues. The blueprint is based upon three real case studies in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. The case of Indonesia focuses on Semarang, a city that faces issues like flooding, increased water demand, and a lack of wastewater treatment. In this report I summarise the different techniques available to tackling these issues. Along with this I provide a cost-benefit analysis to support decision makers. For a short term it is recommended to produce industrial water from (polluted) surface water as a means to offer an alternative to groundwater abstraction. On a long term it is recommended to install additional wastewater and drinking water treatment services to facilitate better hygiene and a higher quality of life.

A cost-benefit analysis of peer coaching for overhead lift use in the long-term care sector in Canada

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 308-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emile Tompa ◽  
Roman Dolinschi ◽  
Hasanat Alamgir ◽  
Anna Sarnocinska-Hart ◽  
Jaime Guzman
Keyword(s):  
Peer Coaching ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Term Care

Part IX Costs, Funding, and Ideas for Optimization, 28 Optimizing the use of Mediation in International Arbitration: A Cost–Benefit Analysis of ‘Two Hat’ Versus ‘Two People’ Models

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waincymer Jeffrey
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Dual Role ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Dual Roles ◽  
Party Autonomy ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Fairness And Efficiency ◽  
Full Cooperation

This chapter considers the question of whether an arbitrator may also adopt a mediation function or whether the dual roles are antithetical. It tests that hypothesis by engaging in a cost-benefit analysis of differing scenarios when mediation is utilized in an arbitral context. The prime comparison is between parallel mediation with a separate neutral and the alternative of a dual-role neutral. The three key points are: there should be much more mediation occurring at the international level, regarding both potential and actual arbitral disputes; a commercially minded arbitrator concerned for the parties’ good faith should encourage mediation where appropriate, in particular, when an adjudicated outcome will not be in the interests of either, usually because the dispute is a small part of a long-term relationship that can risk that relationship no matter who wins; and, while informed party autonomy should always support a dual-role neutral, in most factual permutations, informed parties could be expected to prefer parallel mediation provided there is full cooperation between mediator and arbitrator. The chapter argues that the relative benefits of the use of dual-role neutrals would be greatly outweighed by the costs in fairness and efficiency, and the inevitable need for a sub-optimal design of either or both dispute processes. The benefits would also be separately outweighed by the risks of significant disruption to any ensuing arbitration if a dual-role neutral fails to achieve a settlement.

scholarly journals Regional Discontinuities and the Effectiveness of Further Training Subsidies for Low-Skilled Employees

ILR Review ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1147-1184
Author(s):  
Christine Dauth
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Further Training ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Employment Duration ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Policy Style ◽  
Policy Styles

The author analyzes the effects of further training subsidies for low-skilled employees on individual labor market outcomes in Germany. Using detailed administrative data, the author exploits cross-regional variation in the policy styles of local employment agencies to identify causal effects of program participation. Findings show that training subsidies significantly increase cumulative employment duration and earnings in the short run and middle run for compliers, that is, those workers who additionally participate due to a more generous policy style in their agency. These gains are particularly pronounced for certain subgroups, such as women. A rough cost-benefit analysis, however, suggests that the program overall is not beneficial for the public budget.

Cost–benefit and water resources policy: a survey

Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank A. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Policy Cost ◽  
The Right

This paper reviews recent developments in cost–benefit analysis for water policy researchers who wish to understand the applications of economic principles to inform emerging water policy debates. The cost–benefit framework can provide a comparison of total economic gains and losses resulting from a proposed water policy. Cost–benefit analysis can provide decision-makers with a comparison of the impacts of two or more water policy options using methods that are grounded in time-tested economic principles. Economic efficiency, measured as the difference between added benefits and added costs, can inform water managers and the public of the economic impacts of water programs to address peace, development, health, the environment, climate and poverty. Faced by limited resources, cost–benefit analysis can inform policy choices by summarizing trade-offs involved in designing, applying, or reviewing a wide range of water programs. The data required to conduct a cost–benefit analysis are often poor but the steps needed to carry out that analysis require posing the right questions.

Future Generations and the Social Rate of Discount

1973 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 611-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
C A Nash
Keyword(s):  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Real Income ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Benefit Analysis ◽  
Investment Appraisal ◽  
Social Rate ◽  
Irreversible Effects

This paper reexamines the case for discounting for time in public investment appraisal where long-term or irreversible effects on future generations are involved. It is concluded that—while, in the short-term, considerations of equity reinforce the commonly advocated case for discounting for time—in evaluating long-term or irreversible effects, current discounting procedures require the doubtful assumption of perpetual exponential growth of real income. However, if discounting were abandoned, use of the standard cost—benefit-analysis framework would require the forecasting of shadow prices for all future dates, unless an arbitrary time horizon is adopted. Thus cost—benefit analysis does not appear to be a satisfactory method for evaluating effects on future generations.

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