Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis

📘 [Course Title] - Principles of Cost Benefit Analysis

🚀 [Course Headline] - How to Conduct and Evaluate a Cost-Benefit Analysis with Confidence!

🌍 About the Course: This comprehensive course is designed to equip you with a profound understanding of cost benefit analysis (CBA), a critical tool for decision-making in economics, business, and public policy. With a blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application, you'll learn how to structure and perform your own CBA, making informed decisions that consider both the costs and benefits of any given project or policy.

🎓 Key Takeaways:

• Understanding the Basics: Grasp the core concepts and applications of cost benefit analysis within various sectors.
• Real-World Examples: Learn through engaging examples and real-life case studies that bring the principles to life.
• Step-by-Step Guide: Follow a 10-step process for conducting CBA, with each step carefully explained and illustrated.
• Critical Evaluation: Identify limitations of cost benefit analysis and understand how to address them in your evaluations.
• Policy Recommendations: Learn how to derive meaningful policy recommendations from your CBA, ensuring your analysis is actionable and impactful.

Course Structure:

1. Introduction to Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA): Understand the purpose of CBA and its relevance in decision-making across different fields.

2. Real-life Applications: Explore various scenarios where CBA has been successfully applied, providing context and understanding for its use.

3. The 10 Steps to Conducting a CBA:

   • Step 1: Defining the problem or project.

   • Step 2: Identifying costs and benefits.

   • Step 3: Quantifying monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits.

   • Continue with Steps 4 through 10: Includes identifying stakeholders, assessing risks and uncertainties, valuing time, and more.

4. Evaluating CBA Outcomes:

   • Understand how to interpret the results of a CBA.
   • Learn to spot potential biases and errors in analyses.

5. Addressing Shortcomings:

   • Recognize the limitations of CBA, including ethical considerations and issues of distributional impact.
   • Discuss methods to overcome some of these shortcomings.

6. Making Policy Recommendations:

   • Learn how to present your findings in a clear and compelling manner.
   • Understand the importance of considering broader policy implications and alternative approaches.

By the End of the Course, you will have a solid grasp of cost benefit analysis, its practical applications, and its limitations. You'll be able to confidently conduct or evaluate CBA and provide informed recommendations that consider both the economic and social implications of projects and policies.

👨‍🏫 Instructor: Jaakko Heikkilä - An expert in economic analysis with a passion for demystifying complex analytical processes into actionable insights.

Join us on this journey to master cost benefit analysis, and transform the way you approach decision-making! 🎓✨