Conclusion : Principles and Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis

This chapter is taken from a report for the MacArthur Foundation by the Center for Benefit–Cost Analysis entitled “Towards Principles and Standards in the Use of Benefit–Cost Analysis” (2010).This chapter draws years of scholarship and work on benefit–cost analysis into a single document intended as a starting point to establish principles and standards for benefit–cost analysis in government and non-profit decision-making, with a particular emphasis on social programs. Although the chapter focuses on social programs, most of the principles and standards will apply also to benefit–cost analysis more generally. The chapter recognizes that these principles and standards necessarily will need to adapt to future developments and advances in economics and benefit–cost analysis scholarship; thus, we view our chapter as the beginning of a continuing endeavor