– What proposed policy does the CBA concern?
-Why is the policy challenge important to the reader?
- The effective introduction will describe the proposed policy subject of the CBA, and communicate the stakes of the analysis and importance of the underlying policy
Critique of Core CBA Elements
-Which specific policy options were compared in the CBA?
-Who has standing ?
-What is the time horizon ?
– List explicitly which costs and benefits were calculated, and describe how each was measured .
-Which methods are used to estimate nonmonetary costs and benefits?
-How are distributional considerations (e.g. relative impacts on lower income people) addressed in the analysis (if they are at all)? In other words, how do the authors address (in)equality in the impacts of the various policy options?
- Effective responses to questions concerning the core elements of the CBA will deliver a (1) summary of the element as presented by the authors, and (2) your critique of the author’s handling of the element (i.e., whether you agree with the authors’ choices in the analysis and why) in 5 sentences or less .
Critique of Recommendation
-Based on the analysis presented, do you agree with the recommendation(s) made by the authors?
-Did the author leave any key costs or benefits out of the analysis?
– Do you recognize any assumptions that underlie the calculation of costs, benefits and net present value?
- Is this an effective application of CBA?
- The effective critique of the authors’ recommendations will bring together the critiques of the core elements described above, and attempt to identify strengths and/or blind spots in the authors’ analyses .
