A New Role for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Transportation Infrastructure Investment. (1st April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lewis, David; Currie, Ian
• Is Part Of: Journal of transport economics and policy. Volume 52:Number 2(2018:Apr.)
• Page Start: 95
• Page End: 112
• Publication Date: 2018-04-01
• Subjects: Transportation -- Periodicals; 388.05
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1754-5951

Abstract

Encouraging greater reliance on cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as the organising framework for facilitating discursive democratic procedures is an area in which governments can reinvigorate their role in the development of transportation infrastructure and physical infrastructure in general. Examining the microeconomic foundations of the traditional CBA framework, we find them too narrow to support the promise of CBA as a useful tool to help arrive at evidentiary consensus, and, potentially, community consensus, on major transportation infrastructure projects. CBA requires an integration of advances in welfare economics, probability, discourse theory, and capability analysis. Potential implications for government infrastructure policies are explored.