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> <p><strong>Part 1: Introduction</strong> 1. The Economic Theory of Shadow Pricing <strong>Part 2: Case Studies</strong> 2. The Cohesion Policy of the European Union 3. The Federal Investment Policies of the United States of America <strong>Part 3: The New Theoretical Framework</strong> 4. The Case for EU Intervention: Discussion 5. The Case for EU Intervention: Formalisation 6. The Impact of EU Intervention 7. Welfare Weights 8. Social Discount Rates 9. Shadow Wage Rates <strong>Part 4: Theoretical Insights and Policy Implications</strong> 10. Theoretical Insights and Extensions 11. Insights and Methodological Directions for the Case Studies </p>