scholarly journals Positional Analysis: A Multidimensional and Democracy-Oriented Approach to Decision-Making and Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5555
Author(s):  
Peter Söderbaum

Essential principles of democracy are threatened in many parts of the world. In mainstream economics textbooks, reference to democracy is marginal or non-existent. At issue is if economics as a discipline can contribute to strengthen democracy in policy-making and decision situations more generally. In this essay, it is proposed that democracy becomes part of the definition of economics. While mainstream neoclassical cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is criticized as being technocratic, positional analysis (PA) connected with institutional ecological economics is advocated and presented with its essential elements. While a specific ideological orientation with emphasis on markets is built into CBA, PA represents an attempt to identify more than one ideological orientation or narrative as relevant among actors related to an issue. This is part of an attempt to carry out a many-sided analysis. If we wish to make the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) part of analysis, then multidimensional thinking is needed. PA is an attempt to avoid the “monetary reductionism” of CBA in favor of an analysis where monetary and non-monetary impacts (of different kinds) are separated and where, particularly on the non-monetary side, issues of inertia and irreversibility of impacts are observed.

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 367-371
Author(s):  
B. Larijani ◽  
O. Ameli ◽  
K. Alizadeh ◽  
S. R. Mirsharifi

We aimed to provide a prioritized list of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and their appropriate classification based on a cost-benefit analysis. Functional benchmarking was used to select a rationing model. Teams of qualified specialists working in community hospitals scored procedures from CPTTM according to their cost and benefit elements. The prioritized list of services model of Oregon, United States of America was selected as the functional benchmark. In contrast to its benchmark, our country’s prioritized list of services is primarily designed to help the government in policy-making with the rationing of health care resources, especially for hospitals


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 2054-2068
Author(s):  
Antonio Nesticò ◽  
Gianluigi De Mare ◽  
Gabriella Maselli

Abstract The projects that concern water resources are characterized by the multiple risk rates – even extra–financial – that significantly affect their concrete feasibility. Although the risk assessment is decisive for expressing economic convenience judgements on these project initiatives, the decision-maker does not have precise references to determine whether the residual investment risk is acceptable. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to overcome the limit set by characterizing a model for the acceptability of project risk, also considering the plurality of environmental effects that the water projects generate on the community. The idea is to integrate the logic ‘As Low As Reasonably Practicable’ (ALARP) into the procedural schemes of Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA). In accordance with this principle, widely applied in high-risk sectors such as those of industrial engineering, a risk is ALARP when the costs to further reduce it are disproportionate to the obtainable benefits. The application of the model to an irrigation reconversion intervention in a Municipality in the Province of Salerno (Italy) shows that the ALARP logic defines a general way of thinking and can contribute to the definition of effective forecasting protocols. In this sense, the proposed methodology becomes a useful support for environmental decision-making. (The paper is to be attributed in equal parts to the three authors.)


2010 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. F39-F44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Barrell ◽  
Dawn Holland ◽  
Dilruba Karim

The financial crisis that started in mid-2007 enveloped the world economy and caused a serious recession in most OECD countries. It is widely believed that it has also left a scar on potential output because it will have raised perceptions of risk and hence reduced the sustainable capital stock people wish to hold. It is inevitable that policymakers should ask what can be done to reduce the chances of this happening again, and it is equally inevitable that the banks would answer that it is too costly to do anything. There are four questions one must answer before it is possible to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of bank regulation. The first involves asking what are the costs of financial crises? The second involves asking what are the costs of financial regulation? The third involves asking what causes crises? The fourth, and perhaps the most important, involves asking whether regulators can do anything to reduce the risk of crises? Our overall approach to these issues is spelled out in a report written for the FSA in the aftermath of the crisis (see Barrell et al., 2009).


Author(s):  
Charles Levenstein ◽  
Mary Lee Dunn

During the last several decades, Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) has become a widely used technique in public policy-making. This review examines CBA from perspectives of both advocates and critics; it looks at its theory and practice, its purported advantages and shortcomings in application. It also proposes several ways in which the process can be made more accountable.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e2014012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Koren ◽  
Lora Profeta ◽  
Luci Zalman ◽  
Haya Palmor ◽  
Carina Levin ◽  
...  

Background:β Thalassemia major is characterized by hemolytic anemia, ineffectiveerythropoiesis and hemosiderosis. About 4 % of the world population carries a Thalassemiagene. Management includes blood transfusions and iron chelation, this treatmentis costly and population screening may be significantly more cost benefit. Purpose: Thepurpose of the current study is to analyze the cost of running a preventionprogram for β Thalassemia in Israel and compare it to the actual expensesincurred by treating Thalassemia patients. Methods: Threecost parameters were analyzed and compared: The prevention program, routinetreatment of patients and treatment of complications. An estimation of theexpenses needed to treat patients that present with complications werecalculated based on our ongoing experience in treatment of deterioratingpatients. Results andConclusions: The cost of preventing one affected newborn was $63,660 comparedto $1,971,380 for treatment of a patient during 50 years (mean annual cost:  $39,427). Thus, the prevention of 45 affectednewborns over a ten years period represents a net saving of $88.5 million tothe health budget. Even after deducting the cost of the prevention program ($413.795/yr.), the program still represents abenefit of $ 76 million over ten years. Each prevented case could pay thescreening and prevention program for 4.6 ys.


Because of geological incongruities of reserves, planning and operations of mines are different in each case. A research study was done from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad for developing computerized method studies for better performance and monitoring of a coal company. The research has also developed models for cost-benefit analysis of improved systems of mining operations on ground realities and database creation. The researchwas carried out by analyzing existing mines for developing model programsfor improvements. India has 320 billion tonnes of coal reserves and it is 7 percent of the reserve of the world. The energy consumption in India is about one-third of the world average and 60 percent of the installed capacity of energy in the country is based on thermal plants.The research has developed data-based computer methods in 14 original models; for result-oriented planning for multi-project scheduling and monitoring.Once, the techno-economics of coalmine reorganization is finalized, viz. programs run, scheduling of activities and monitoring for completion become valuable. Research conducted caused better performance and profit for the company.


SURG Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40
Author(s):  
Hubert Cheung

East Africa is home to some of the most stunning wildlife in the world. With tourism in the region’s wildlife parks growing in popularity, it is imperative to evaluate the socioeconomic and environmental costs and benefits of this expanding industry. This study conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the various impacts that tourism has brought to Kenya’s national parks by monetarily valuating each impact. While the results of this cost-benefit analysis suggest that the benefits far outweigh the costs, even when non-measurable costs are considered, a number of fundamental issues must be addressed in order to improve the cost-benefit balance. The results are likely to be representative of the overall state of tourism in Kenya’s national parks and expose key areas where improvements can be made. Improvements to tourism in Kenya’s national parks can have positive implications for local people, the environment, wildlife species, tourists, and biodiversity conservation. Keywords: tourism; national parks; Kenya; cost-benefit analysis


2021 ◽  
pp. 186-200
Author(s):  
Florian J. Egloff

This chapter focuses on intentions and cyberterrorists. In defining cyberterrorism as the use, or threat of use, of cyberspace to deliver violence, through the disruption or destruction of digital data, the chapter captures potentially novel behaviour. It highlights the claims made by intelligence officials about terrorists’ intentions of using cyberspace. It then interrogates to what extent this matches the literature on terrorist motivations and intentions, and whether cyberspace is an attractive means for carrying out terrorist attacks. Finding that a simple cost–benefit analysis does not favour cyberspace as a means of carrying out terrorist acts, the chapter interrogates the vectors of change both on the intentions and capability side of the assessment. It closes with the analysis of a hypothetical case that would match the definition of cyberterror: a religiously inspired version of the Ashley Madison hack.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document