An evaluation of the financial impact of proposed solutions or actions.
An analysis, often stated as a ratio, used to evaluate a proposed course of action. [D00431] OTOB 271-4
A study of the interaction between the costs and benefits that can be derived from a given course of action.
an appraisal of a project based on the costs and benefits derived from it.
An approach whereby one seeks to identify and quantify the benefits and the costs imposed by some change (regulatory or otherwise). While the idea is simple, the analysis can be quite complex. For example, the costs associated with automobile emissions controls are relatively simple to quantify when compared with the benefits. Quantifying the benefits would mean translating reduced pollution to the "value" of avoided illness, death and wildlife destruction, to name a few.
A tally/comparison of expenditures and advantages in dollar terms resulting from various actions.
A means of measuring the costs associated with a specific program, project, activity or benefit compared with the total benefit or value derived.
A judgemental technique in which a researcher compares all social and private costs and benefits of a programme with a view to determining whether the benefits exceed the costs, and if so by how much. Social costs and social benefits usually have to be measured by some indirect means and converted into monetary values so that a comparison can be made with private costs and benefits. Furthermore, it may not be appropriate to use prevailing market prices. Consider a situation of very high unemployment. In this case, the real cost of labour may be much lower than the prevailing market wage. The opportunity cost (the next best use of the otherwise unemployed workers had the project not gone ahead) is lower than the prevailing wage rate, and this low opportunity cost has to be represented by a shadow price which has to be derived somehow. See also cost-effectiveness analysis.
(Compare Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.) Comparison of the costs and benefits of a project or program, which can be used to determine whether the benefits exceed the costs and which project or program maximizes net benefits.
An evaluation of large-scale public projects by comparing the costs and benefits that accrue from them.
a comparison of the economic value of using a productive resource with the opportunity cost of using the resource. Projects or regulations are evaluated based on how they change net economic value.
An analysis that compares present values of all benefits less those of related costs when benefits can be valued in dollars the same way as costs. A cost-benefit analysis is performed in order to select the alternative that maximizes the benefits of a program.
A comparison of the costs and benefits of the current system or processes versus a proposed GIS. A cost-benefit analysis is developed to assist with making an acquisition decision.
Tool for judging the advantages of the intervention from the point of view of all the groups concerned, and on the basis of a monetary value attributed to all the positive and negative consequences of the intervention (which must be estimated separately). When it is neither relevant nor possible to use market prices to estimate a gain or a loss, a fictive price can be set in various ways. The first consists of estimating the willingness of beneficiaries to pay to obtain positive impacts or avoid negative impacts. The fictive price of goods or services can also be estimated by the loss of earnings in the absence of those goods or services (e.g. in cases of massive unemployment, the fictive price of a day's unskilled work is very low). Finally, the fictive price can be decided on directly by the administrative officials concerned or the steering group. Cost-benefit analysis is used mainly for the ex ante evaluation of large projects. BACK
the appraisal of a investment project which includes all social and financial costs and benefits accruing to the project. [GBA
when decision-makers weigh the costs and benefits of a public policy to decide whether it should be continued or changed.
An evaluation of the relationship between program costs and outcomes expressed in monetary terms.
A comparison of the cost of an action and the economic benefits it produces through elimination of other direct and indirect costs.
converts effects into the same monetary terms as the costs and compares them.
a tool for policy analysis that attempts to monetize all the costs and benefits of a proposed action to determine the net benefit.
A technique used to compare the various costs associated with an investment with the benefits that it proposes to return. Both tangible and intangible factors should be addressed and accounted for. [GAO
an analysis of the cost effectiveness of different alternatives in order to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs
a common technique used to influence judgment as to the continuance or abatement of a particular project
a hypothetical experiment which asks whether society will be better off after the implementation of the proposed project
a useful means of identifying the various policy options available and weighing up the pros and cons of each one
identifying the advantages or benefits and the disadvantages or costs of a proposed solution
an economic process for evaluating the costs and benefits of an event or an activity; calculating the estimated cost-benefit ratio estimate for a program or regulatory standard. Cost-benefit analysis should be applied to each risk mitigation measure to select the most efficient means of reducing the hazard.
A method of project evaluation by weighing up the profitable and harmful effects of the project's inception. It only provides for the financial information of a project and does not account for items of aesthetic appeal and other intangible items.
A method of analyzing the cost associated with a particular policy or behavior and determining if the benefits outweigh the costs. see also Criminal Calculus.
The comparison of investment and operating costs with the direct benefits or impact generated by the investment in a given intervention. It uses a variety of methods and means of expressing results.
a comparison of alternative interventions in which costs and outcomes are quantified in common monetary units.
And analysis of the costs and benefits associated with alternative courses of action that is designed to identify the alternative that yields the maximum net benefit. CBA is generally used when it is possible to assign dollar values to all relevant costs and benefits.
Assessment of the cost of an enterprise against its potential benefit.
An assessment of both costs and outcomes in dollar terms. It helps maximize the return on investment made in alternative pharmaceutical products and services that provide a variety of outcomes. In cost-benefit studies, recognition of who pays the costs and who receives the benefits is significant.
An analysis that compares the cheaper of a) borrowing money to buy a car and paying the interest, with b), paying cash for a car, and losing the opportunity to earn a rate of return on the savings applied to the purchase.
Technique used to quantify the tangible and intangible upsides and downsides of a project.
A type of economic evaluation in which both the costs and consequences of different interventions are expressed in monetary units.
a systematic comparison of the cost of carrying out the project, with the value of the resulting service, resource, information or product to any of a possible range of beneficiaries.
The principal analytical framework used to evaluate public expenditure decisions. It attempts to evaluate a project before it is undertaken to help stakeholders (in the case of environmental assessment) and decision-makers determine in what form and at what scale it should be undertaken, and indeed whether it should be undertaken at all. Cost-benefit analysis involves the following steps: 1) identification of the project or projects to be analysed; 2) enumeration of all project impacts, both favourable and unfavourable, present and future, on all members of the public (e.g., a community) if a particular project is adopted; 3) valuation of these impacts in monetary terms (favourable impacts are registered as benefits, and unfavourable impacts as costs); and 4) calculation of the project's net benefits (total benefits minus total costs).
A formal quantitative procedure comparing costs and benefits of a proposed project or act under a set of preestablished rules. To determine a rank ordering of projects to maximize rate of return when available funds are unlimited, the quotient of benefits divided by costs is the appropriate form; to maximize absolute return given limited resources, benefits-costs is the appropriate form.
This is a process to compare the costs of establishing an intervention (such as a workplace education program) with the benefits (such as increased productivity, less waste or fewer errors, lower absenteeism, better communication, etc.).
A study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good.
An analytical technique that computes the costs and benefits, measured in monetary terms, of a proposed transportation improvement or policy action. Identified losses and gains experienced by society are included, and the net benefits created by an action are calculated. Alternative actions are compared to assist in the selection of those that yield the greatest net benefits or benefit-cost ratio.
A type of analysis that tries to measure the benefit to be gained from an extra cost. For example, what would be the cost of providing a same-day mail service within a major city centre, and how much would customers pay for it
The comparison of alternative courses of action, or alternative technical solutions, for the purpose of determining which alternative would realize the greatest cost benefit; cost-benefit analysis is also used to determine if the system development or maintenance costs still yield a benefit or if the effort should stop.
Assesses whether the cost of an intervention is worth the benefit by measuring both in the same units; monetary units are usually used.
An assessment method that is sometimes used to compare the benefits and costs of a development proposal, such as a major infrastructure project.
(see Appendix H) An economic evaluation that compares therapy involving the proposed drug with therapy involving its main comparator(s) in which both costs and benefits are measured in monetary terms to compute a net monetary gain/loss or benefit gain/loss.
Comparison of the total cost of doing the project with the anticipated value or payoff of the project; a formal analysis involves calculating the ratio of the numerical value of the anticipated benefits to the anticipated costs
A form of economic assessment, usually from society's perspective, in which the costs of medical care are compared with the economic benefits of the care, with both costs and benefits expressed in units of currency. The benefits typically include reductions in future health care costs and increased earnings due to the improved health of those receiving the care.
Method of analyzing competing business alternatives based on comparing total costs to total benefits. A proper cost-benefit analysis takes into account all benefits, including productivity, savings, and motivation, and weighs them against all costs, including expenditures, overheads, and lost opportunities.
Estimation of the overall costs and monetary value of each alternative activity or program EHR/NSF Evaluation Handbook, Chapter Seven: GlossarySource web site
n: Estimates and comparison of short-term and long-term costs (losses) and benefits (gains) from an economic decision. If the estimated benefits exceed the estimated costs, the decision to buy an economic good or provide a public good is considered worthwhile.
Cost-benefit analysis (often referred to as CBA, or in the United States as Benefit-cost analysis) is an important technique for project appraisal: the process of weighing the total expected costs against the total expected benefits of one or more actions in order to choose the best or most profitable option.