From the report: "Some
of the most interesting discussions of cost-benefit analysis focus on difficult
problems, including catastrophic scenarios, “fat tails,” extreme uncertainty,
intergenerational equity, and discounting over long time horizons. As it
operates in the actual world of government practice, however, cost-benefit
analysis usually does not need to explore the hardest questions, and when it
does so, it tends to enlist standardized methods and tools. It is useful to
approach cost-benefit analysis from the bottom up, that is, by anchoring the
discussion in specific scenarios involving trade-offs and valuations.
Thirty-six stylized scenarios are presented here, alongside an exploration of
how they might be handled in practice. Open issues are also discussed." Read more
