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Cost Benefit Analysis All 2
Cost Benefit Analysis All 2
ANALYSIS
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the implicit or
explicit assessment of the benefits and costs (i.e.,
pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages)
associated with a particular choice.
Benefits and costs may be monetary (pecuniary) or
non-monetary (non-pecuniary, psychic).
Expected Value
When values of costs or benefits are not known with
certainty, but are known with probability, expected values
are used.
Expected value of a benefit is:
E(B) = i prob(B=bi) bi
where
prob(B=bi) is the probability that the benefit is worth $ bi .
Knee Injury
Cost of visit to ER=$50, $100 or more; expected value = 80
$80 is a weighted average, where the weights are the
probabilities that alternative cost values will occur.
That is, if
$50 will occur with probability 0.6,
$100 will occur with probability 0.2, and
$150 will occur with probability 0.2,
then E(C)=.6 (50)+.2 (100)+.2 (150)= 80
Present Value
Future, as well as present, benefits and costs must be
included in the analysis.
But costs and benefits that accrue in the future are
worth less than costs and benefits today.
Economic agents and society as a whole will maximize
the present value of expected net benefits.
Discount Rate
What value of r should be used?
r = rate of discount of future consumption or rate of
time preference
The higher the social discount rate, the higher the
social value of consumption today relative to
consumption tomorrow.
Value of life
Does society view life as infinitely valuable?
1.
2.
Advantages.
Measures total value of life (not just labor market
value)