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Is CBA Ranking of Transport Investments Robust?

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  • Maria Börjesson
  • Jonas Eliasson
  • Mattias Lundberg

Abstract

Cost-benefit analyses (CBA) are often questioned on the grounds that results depend crucially on uncertain assumptions about the future, and on ethically or methodologically contestable trade-offs between different types of benefits. This paper explores the robustness of CBA rankings of transport investments with respect to two types of uncertainties: relative benefit valuations and scenario assumptions related to car ownership, car characteristics and driving costs. The impact of differentiating the value of time with respect to travel mode and purpose is also studied. The study concludes that CBA rankings are robust to all of the studied variations. © 2014 LSE and the University of Bath

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Börjesson & Jonas Eliasson & Mattias Lundberg, 2014. "Is CBA Ranking of Transport Investments Robust?," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 48(2), pages 189-204, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpe:jtecpo:v:48:y:2014:i:2:p:189-204
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    Cited by:

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    2. Van Wee, Bert & Boarnet, Marlon, 2014. "Reaction to the paper Tempest in a Teapot: The exaggerated problem of transport-related residential self-selection as a source of error in empirical studies," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 7(3), pages 81-86.
    3. Asplund, Disa & Eliasson, Jonas, 2016. "Does uncertainty make cost-benefit analyses pointless?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 195-205.
    4. Lisa Hansson & Lena Nerhagen, 2019. "Regulatory Measurements in Policy Coordinated Practices: The Case of Promoting Renewable Energy and Cleaner Transport in Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Mackie, Peter & Worsley, Tom & Eliasson, Jonas, 2014. "Transport appraisal revisited," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 3-18.
    6. Gössling, Stefan & Kees, Jessica & Litman, Todd & Humpe, Andreas, 2023. "The economic cost of a 130 kph speed limit in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    7. Hansson, Lisa, 2020. "Public administrators’ roles in the policy adaptation of transport directives: How knowledge is created and reproduced," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 208-216.
    8. Eliasson, Jonas, 2023. "Tillbaka till framtiden: en nygammal planprocess [Back to the future: a renewed infrastructure planning process]," MPRA Paper 118658, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Börjesson, Maria & Jonsson, R. Daniel & Berglund, Svante & Almström, Peter, 2014. "Land-use impacts in transport appraisal," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 82-91.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

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