Published February 27th 2007 by Routledge – 324 pages Should
Malaysia build a new steel mill, or New York City an urban
motorway? Should higher education expand, or water supplies be
improved? These are typical questions to which cost-benefit
analysis, the key economic tool for analyzing problems of social
choice can contribute to, as well as providing a useful vehicle
for understanding the practical value of welfare economics. This
invaluable text covers the main problems that arise in a typical
cost-benefit exercise. Cost-benefit analysis is used everywhere,
but its techniques are particularly prominent in fields where
there is some kind of ethical dimension. For this edition, E.J.
Mishan has been joined by Euston Quah, to explore new themes,
including the impact of uncertainty on cost-benefit analysis and
to introduce a host of new and up-to-date case studies. 1. Some
Simplified Examples of Cost-benefit Studies 2. Economic Concepts
of Cost and Benefits 3. External Effects 4. The Choice of a
Cost-benefit Cr