ABSTRACT
The technique of cost-benefit analysis itself is used as a way of trying to measure the impact of such matters in an overall appraisal of projects.
The technique of cost-benefit analysis attempts to identify and quantify the non-financial costs and benefits of a project. For instance, if a county council wants to put a by-pass around a village, it will be able to calculate the capital costs of building the road in terms of labour and tarmac. But there are other costs associated with the by-pass, some of which are non-financial:
■ maintenance costs; ■ pollution from exhaust fumes and dirt; ■ water pollution from a mixture of rain and rubber, heavy metals and so on, which
accumulate on the road through use, as the mixture runs off into ditches and fields: ■ noise; ■ loss of green fields; ■ general damage to the landscape.
