ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an analysis of the empirical rates of return observed in the framework of cost-benefit analysis at three supranational institutions: the European Commission (EC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the World Bank (WB). The three institutions considered widely differ in their objectives, geographical scope, project selection processes and methodologies. However, there are important similarities, as they all share a broad commitment to develop and use CBA as a tool in financing decisions (Picciotto 2007). Each of them has a different geographical coverage, with the EU responsible for the less developed regions in Western Europe and, since 2004, Eastern Europe, the EBRD covering Central-Eastern Europe, and the WB dealing with less developed countries worldwide.
