Because the issue of how to put a monetary value on a life will always be controversial, this paper presents an alternative approach that can in certain circumstances avoid the use of monetary values. The alternative approach uses time as the numeraire. This numeraire can handle both the ex ante...

It is now almost accepted practice that distributional weights be incorporated into cost-benefit criteria. While there are still major dissenters on this issue, notably Harberger, the relevant questions now involve the nature of the weights themselves. A number of alternative formulations have...

The purpose of this article is to derive estimates of the set of weights used in 99 railway closure decisions made over the period 1963-70 in the U.K. and to examine the usefulness of these weights to policy-makers

This article argues that numbers of uncompensated losers, here equated with numbers below the poverty line, should accompany distribution and efficiency as a third element in the SWF. No constant weights, efficiency and distribution SWF can satisfy two simple axioms

Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is the basis for rational economic decision making, whether it is for the government or individuals. If benefits are greater than costs, then a project or activity should be expanded. If costs are greater than the benefits, the project or activity should be...

This article presents a set of policy decisions where a three-objective social welfare function (SWF) was used. In addition to efficiency and distributional elements there is a third constituent: the ‘numbers effect'. The cost–benefit criterion that results depends on the numbers who are...