Comparison of Russian and Foreign Approaches to the Assessment of the Economic Efficiency of Investment Projects

Depending on the point of view from which the project is evaluated (private investor or society as a whole) and the methods for determining costs and benefits, two types of project effectiveness are distinguished: financial (commercial) and economic (public, socio-economic). The methodology for assessing economic (socio-economic) efficiency is well developed and widely used abroad to make decisions on state support for investment projects of significant value for society. It is shown that the methodological guidelines used in Russia for the evaluation and selection of investment projects for the provision of state support ignore the existing foreign experience. The project's high financial (commercial) efficiency is considered a critical factor in decision-making on securing state support for a project. This circumstance often determines the non-optimality of state support. To improve existing project selection procedures in Russia, it is necessary to shift the focus to the socially meaningful results of project implementation and compare them with the amount of allocated funding. It is essential to supplement these methods with the requirements of the negative value of the financial net present value (FNPV) for a private investor in the absence of state support and the calculation of the economic net present value (ENPV). The latter should include a comparison of all costs and benefits arising from implementing the project from the point of view of society.