Cost-Benefit Analysis of Multi-Level Government

<p>This book provides an original theoretical framework for assessing public investment policies co-financed by Union (Federal) governments. This framework is applied to two important case studies: the EU Cohesion Policy and the US Federal Investment Policies.</p><p><em>Cost-Benefit Analysis of Multi-Level Government</em> sheds light on a number of outstanding issues of economic theory by extending the theory of shadow prices and provides guidance to real-world decision makers. In particular the following questions are addressed:</p><ul> <p> </p> <li>In which circumstances is intervention by higher level government in Member States through investment policies justified?</li> </ul><ul> <p> </p> <li>Is there a welfare economics rationale to underpin interregional equity? What is the relationship between interregional and interpersonal income distribution? How can social exclusion be included in cost-benefit tests?</li> </ul><ul> <p> </p> <li>How can a higher level of government allocate financial resources to investment policies before it bargains over the related programming documents with lower levels of government?</li> </ul><ul> <p> </p> <li>In these circumstances how can optimal matching rates be derived under binding or non binding budgetary constraints?</li> </ul><ul> <p> </p> <li>How can such an analytical framework provide guidance for real-world decision makers?</li> </ul><p>Guidelines such as the <em>Impact Assessment Guidelines</em> (European Commission)<em> the Green Book </em>(British Treasury) and <em>Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs</em> (Executive Office of the US President) are also analyzed.</p><p>The book will be of interest to policy makers postgraduate students and researchers in cost-benefit analysis welfare economics public choice public finance multi-level government economics and income distribution issues.</p>