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Cost–Benefit Analysis

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Encyclopedia of Law and Economics

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, cost–benefit analysis (CBA) has been applied to various areas of public policies and projects. The aim of this essay is to describe the origins of CBA, classify typologies of costs and benefits, define efficiency under CBA and discuss issues associated with the use of a microeconomic tool in macroeconomic contexts.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Reading, Reading Berkshire, UK

    Jacopo Torriti

  2. King’s College London, London, UK

    Eka Ikpe

Authors
  1. Jacopo Torriti
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  2. Eka Ikpe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacopo Torriti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MRE and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Faculté d’Economie, Université de Montpellier and LAMETA-UMR CNRS, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  3. DiGSPES, University of Eastern Piedmont, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

  4. IEL, Torino, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Torriti, J., Ikpe, E. (2019). Cost–Benefit Analysis. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_124

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