Cost Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Anthony E. Boardman (Author), David H. Greenberg (Author), Aidan R. Vining (Author), David L. Weimer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131435833 | ISBN-13: 978-0131435834 | Publication Date: December 25, 2005 | Edition: 3rd

For courses in Cost-Benefit Analysis, taught in Economics Departments, Public Policy Departments, and Public Administration Departments.  Also ideal forpracticing policy analysts andpublic managers.This authoritative, market leading book is distinct for it's consistent application of a nine-step framework for conducting or interpreting a cost-benefit analysis.  

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anthony Boardman

Anthony E. Boardman is the Van Dusen Professor of Business Administration at the University of British Columbia. His publications on cost-benefit analysis have appeared in many leading academic journals including the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Annals of Regional Science, and the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis Research and Practice. He has also served as a consultant for the Treasury of New Zealand and all levels of government in Canada. 

David Weimer

David L. Weimer is professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He has published work involving the application of cost-benefit analysis to energy policy and the use of contingent valuation surveys.  He also has contributed entries on cost-benefit analysis to the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences and the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (2nd edition).

Aidan R. Vining

Aidan R. Vining is the CNABS Professor of Business and Government Relations in the Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) and holds a Ph.D. from the Goldman Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.  His articles related to cost-benefit analysis have appeared in a wide range of journals.  In addition to authoring these articles, Dr. Vining is the author of Policy Analysis; Concepts and Practice with David Weimer (4th. Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005) and has recently co-edited Building the Future: Issues in Public Infrastructure in Canada (C.D. Howe) which analyzes the costs and benefits of major infrastructure projects in Canada.  Over the last twenty five years, he has taught numerous courses and seminars on cost-benefit analysis and policy analysis to government analysts in countries around the world 

David Greenberg

David Greenberg is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).  In 2002 he worked as a labor market analyst at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit within the British Cabinet Office, helping design a random assignment evaluation of a pilot program that attempts to help retain disadvantaged workers in employment and aid their advancement and is currently working on the cost-benefit analysis of this pilot program.  In addition, he is presently responsible for the cost-benefit analyses of two on-going U.K. programs: the New Deal for Disabled Persons and has taught a course in cost-benefit analysis at UMBC for many years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3rd edition (December 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131435833
• ISBN-13: 978-0131435834
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Even the prof had a difficult time getting through it, December 30, 2006

By 

E. Whalen (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cost Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I had to buy this book for a class I took on Cost-benefit analysis (which is probably why you're thinking of buying it, too). The contents of my review won't have much influence on your choice to purchase it, as that decision has already been made by your prof. But I think I owe you a few warnings.

Some of the chapters are well-written (the chapters on discounting and compounding and time value), but most of them are confusing (the chapters on option value and the section about the optimal growth discount model). Even our professor, who has a BA in econ from Yale and a PhD in econ from Berkeley, had trouble getting through these sections. Some of the homework problems at the ends of the chapters ask about material that the text never fully explains. In a few instances, the book reminds you why you hate integral calculus.

So although I can't stop you from buying this, I can at least warn you that your trip through its pages will be nothing like a trip through the beautiful mountains on the cover. Unless you were planning on climbing the mountains. In January. Without GPS or crampons.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not recommended, April 11, 2011

By 

Bryter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cost Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

I've read 5 chapter so far, and this is by far one of the worst textbooks i ever read. Some of the examples are pretty bad, explanations of some concepts are also short and confusing, and (as another reviewer said) some of the problems given in the end of the chapters use techniques and concepts that were not explained in the book! Even the prof is confused!
Ignore if you can.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Textbook, November 12, 2010

By 

Julia Hart (District of Columbia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cost Benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

The book came pretty fast. It wasn't in mint condition but it looked new enough. I'm also enjoying this class and the book is easy to read and understand.