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On Criteria for Evaluating Social Programs

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  • Jorge Luis García
  • James J. Heckman

Abstract

This paper examines the economic foundations of some recently proposed criteria for evaluating the benefits of social programs. These criteria are appropriate for comparing a class of revenue-constant policies. They replace foundational principles of social opportunity costs with accounting conventions from the point of view of government bureaucrats. They do not address the question of social optimality associated with programs that expand or contract the government budget.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman, 2022. "On Criteria for Evaluating Social Programs," NBER Working Papers 30005, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30005
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dreze, Jean & Stern, Nicholas, 1987. "The theory of cost-benefit analysis," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 14, pages 909-989, Elsevier.
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    Cited by:

    1. Spencer Bastani, 2023. "The Marginal Cost of Public Funds: A Brief Guide," CESifo Working Paper Series 10322, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

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