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Decentralization Schemes, Cost-Benefit-Analysis, and Net National Product as a Measure of Social Well-Being

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  • Partha Dasgupta
  • Karl-Goran Maler

Abstract

This paper is about net national product (NNP). We are concerned with what NNP means, what it should include, what it offers us and, therefore, why we may be interested in it. We show that NNP, properly defined, can be used as a gauge for project evaluation, but we also show that it should not be used in any of its more customary roles, such as in making intertemporal and cross-country comparisons of social well-being. We develop such indices as would be appropriate for making such comparisons. In particular, we show that comparisons of social well-being should involve comparisons of wealth. Writings on the welfare economics of NNP have mostly addressed economies pursuing optimal policies. Our analysis includes not only such economies, but also those where the government is capable of engaging only in policy reforms.The literature on green NNP has widely interpreted NNP as a "constant-equivalent consumption stream". We show that this interpretation offers no purchase. It is the Hamiltonian that equals a constant-equivalent utility stream and we argue that, as the Hamiltonian is typically a non-linear function of consumption and leisure, it is of little practical use.

Suggested Citation

  • Partha Dasgupta & Karl-Goran Maler, 1998. "Decentralization Schemes, Cost-Benefit-Analysis, and Net National Product as a Measure of Social Well-Being," STICERD - Development Economics Papers - From 2008 this series has been superseded by Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers 12, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:stidep:12
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Skånberg, Kristian, 2001. "Constructing a Partially Environmentally Adjusted Net Domestic Product for Sweden 1993 and 1997," Working Papers 76, National Institute of Economic Research.
    2. Samakovlis, Eva, 2008. "How are Green National Accounts Produced in Practice?," Working Papers 105, National Institute of Economic Research.

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