ABSTRACT
Before a large investment is made in an engineering product, an investor considers the economic viability of the product. The investor compares different alternatives to choose the best one for optimum economic performance. The necessary economic calculations have to be made on projected costs, investments and income over an assumed life of the product. These calculations are for a future period for a product which is still to be manufactured. The effectiveness of any judgement based on such calculations depends on the understanding of the identified economic criterion and expressing this criterion in terms of design variables. In this chapter, we discuss the time value of money, different economic criteria and their evaluation and economic complexities which affect economic evaluation.
