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The process involves monetary value of initial and ongoing expenses vs. expected return.
Constructing plausible measures of the costs and benefits of specific actions is often very
difficult. In practice, analysts try to estimate costs and benefits either by using survey
methods or by drawing inferences from market behavior. For example, a product
manager may compare manufacturing and marketing expenses with projected sales for a
proposed product and decide to produce it only if he expects the revenues to eventually
recoup the costs. Cost–benefit analysis attempts to put all relevant costs and benefits on a
common temporal footing. A discount rate is chosen, which is then used to compute all
relevant future costs and benefits in present-value terms. Most commonly, the discount
rate used for present-value calculations is an interest rate taken from financial markets
(R.H. Frank 2000). This can be very controversial; for example, a high discount rate
implies a very low value on the welfare of future generations, which may have a huge
impact on the desirability of interventions to help the environment. Empirical studies
suggest that in reality, people's discount rates do decline over time. Because cost–benefit
analysis aims to measure the public's true willingness to pay, this feature is typically built
into studies.
During cost–benefit analysis, monetary values may also be assigned to less tangible
effects such as the various risks that could contribute to partial or total project failure,
such as loss of reputation, market penetration, or long-term enterprise strategy
alignments. This is especially true when governments use the technique, for instance to
decide whether to introduce business regulation, build a new road, or offer a new drug
through the state healthcare system. In this case, a value must be put on human life or the
environment, often causing great controversy. For example, the cost–benefit principle
says that we should install a guardrail on a dangerous stretch of mountain road if the
dollar cost of doing so is less than the implicit dollar value of the injuries, deaths, and
property damage thus prevented (R.H. Frank 2000).
Cost–benefit calculations typically involve using time value of money formulas. This is
usually done by converting the future expected streams of costs and benefits into a
present value amount.
The practice of cost–benefit analysis differs between countries and between sectors (e.g.,
transport, health) within countries. Some of the main differences include the types of
impacts that are included as costs and benefits within appraisals, the extent to which
impacts are expressed in monetary terms, and differences in the discount rate between
countries. Agencies across the world rely on a basic set of key cost–benefit indicators,
including the following:
The concept of CBA dates back to an 1848 article by Dupuit and was formalized in
subsequent works by Alfred Marshall. The practical application of CBA was initiated in
the US by the Corps of Engineers, after the Federal Navigation Act of 1936 effectively
required cost–benefit analysis for proposed federal waterway infrastructure. [1] The Flood
Control Act of 1939 was instrumental in establishing CBA as federal policy. It specified
the standard that "the benefits to whomever they accrue [be] in excess of the estimated
costs.[2]
In the UK, the New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) was introduced by the then
Department for Transport, Environment and the Regions. This brought together cost–
benefit results with those from detailed environmental impact assessments and presented
them in a balanced way. NATA was first applied to national road schemes in the 1998
Roads Review but subsequently rolled out to all modes of transport. It is now a
cornerstone of transport appraisal in the UK and is maintained and developed by the
Department for Transport.[10]
The EU's 'Developing Harmonised European Approaches for Transport Costing and
Project Assessment' (HEATCO) project, part of its Sixth Framework Programme, has
reviewed transport appraisal guidance across EU member states and found that
significant differences exist between countries. HEATCO's aim is to develop guidelines
to harmonise transport appraisal practice across the EU.[11][12] [3]
Transport Canada has also promoted the use of CBA for major transport investments
since the issuance of its Guidebook in 1994.[4]
More recent guidance has been provided by the United States Department of
Transportation and several state transportation departments, with discussion of available
software tools for application of CBA in transportation, including HERS, BCA.Net,
StatBenCost, CalBC, and TREDIS. Available guides are provided by the Federal
Highway Administration[5][6], Federal Aviation Administration[7], Minnesota Department
of Transportation,[8] and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)[9].
In the early 1960s, CBA was also extended to assessment of the relative benefits and
costs of healthcare and education in works by Burton Weisbrod.[10][11] Later, the United
States Department of Health and Human Services issued its CBA Guidebook.[12]
1. Rely heavily on past like projects (often differing markedly in function or size and
certainly in the skill levels of the team members)
2. Rely heavily on the project's members to identify (remember from their collective
past experiences) the significant cost drivers
3. Rely on very crude heuristics to estimate the money cost of the intangible
elements
4. Are unable to completely dispel the usually unconscious biases of the team
members (who often have a vested interest in a decision to go ahead) and the
natural psychological tendency to "think positive" (whatever that involves)
Another challenge to cost–benefit analysis comes from determining which costs should
be included in an analysis (the significant cost drivers). This is often controversial
because organizations or interest groups may think that some costs should be included or
excluded from a study.
In the case of the Ford Pinto (where, because of design flaws, the Pinto was liable to
burst into flames in a rear-impact collision), the Ford company's decision was not to issue
a recall. Ford's cost–benefit analysis had estimated that based on the number of cars in
use and the probable accident rate, deaths due to the design flaw would run about $49.5
million (the amount Ford would pay out of court to settle wrongful death lawsuits). This
was estimated to be less than the cost of issuing a recall ($137.5 million) [16]. In the
event, Ford overlooked (or considered insignificant) the costs of the negative publicity so
engendered, which turned out to be quite significant (because it led to the recall anyway
and to measurable losses in sales).
In the field of health economics, some analysts think cost–benefit analysis can be an
inadequate measure because willingness-to-pay methods of determining the value of
human life can be subject to bias according to income inequity. They support use of
variants such as cost-utility analysis and quality-adjusted life year to analyze the effects
of health policies.
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A cost benefit analysis finds, quantifies, and adds all the positive factors. These are the
benefits. Then it identifies, quantifies, and subtracts all the negatives, the costs. The
difference between the two indicates whether the planned action is advisable. The real trick to
doing a cost benefit analysis well is making sure you include all the costs and all the benefits
and properly quantify them.
Should we hire an additional sales person or assign overtime? Is it a good idea to purchase the
new stamping machine? Will we be better off putting our free cash flow into securities rather
than investing in additional capital equipment? Each of these questions can be answered by
doing a proper cost benefit analysis.
Example Cost Benefit Analysis
As the Production Manager, you are proposing the purchase of a $1 Million stamping machine
to increase output. Before you can present the proposal to the Vice President, you know you
need some facts to support your suggestion, so you decide to run the numbers and do a cost
benefit analysis.
You itemize the benefits. With the new machine, you can produce 100 more units per hour.
The three workers currently doing the stamping by hand can be replaced. The units will be
higher quality because they will be more uniform. You are convinced these outweigh the costs.
There is a cost to purchase the machine and it will consume some electricity. Any other costs
would be insignificant.
You calculate the selling price of the 100 additional units per hour multiplied by the number of
production hours per month. Add to that two percent for the units that aren't rejected because
of the quality of the machine output. You also add the monthly salaries of the three workers.
That's a pretty good total benefit.
Then you calculate the monthly cost of the machine, by dividing the purchase price by 12
months per year and divide that by the 10 years the machine should last. The manufacturer's
specs tell you what the power consumption of the machine is and you can get power cost
numbers from accounting so you figure the cost of electricity to run the machine and add the
purchase cost to get a total cost figure.
You subtract your total cost figure from your total benefit value and your analysis shows a
healthy profit. All you have to do now is present it to the VP, right? Wrong. You've got the
right idea, but you left out a lot of detail.
Lets look at the benefits first. Don't use the selling price of the units to calculate the value.
Sales price includes many additional factors that will unnecessarily complicate your analysis if
you include them, not the least of which is profit margin. Instead, get the activity based value
of the units from accounting and use that. You remembered to add the value of the increased
quality by factoring in the average reject rate, but you may want to reduce that a little
because even the machine won't always be perfect. Finally, when calculating the value of
replacing three employees, in addition to their salaries, be sure to add their overhead costs,
the costs of their benefits, etc., which can run 75-100% of their salary. Accounting can give
you the exact number for the workers' "fully burdened" labor rates.
In addition to properly quantifying the benefits, make sure you included all of them. For
instance, you may be able to buy feed stock for the machine in large rolls instead of the
individual sheets needed when the work is done by hand. This should lower the cost of
material, another benefit.
As for the cost of the machine, in addition to it's purchase price and any taxes you will have to
pay on it, you must add the cost of interest on the money spent to purchase it. The company
may purchase it on credit and incur interest charges, or it may buy it outright. However, even
if it buys the machine outright, you will have to include interest charges equivalent to what the
company could have collected in interest if it had not spent the money.
Check with finance on the amortization period. Just because the machine may last 10 years,
doesn't mean the company will keep it on the books that long. It may amortize the purchase
over as little as 4 years if it is considered capital equipment. If the cost of the machine is not
enough to qualify as capital, the full cost will be expensed in one year. Adjust your monthly
purchase cost of the machine to reflect these issues. You have the electricity cost figured out
but there are some cost you missed too.
Studies of costs and related economic implications comprise a major group of methods
used in HTA. These studies can involve attributes of either or both of primary data
collection and integrative methods. That is, cost data can be collected as part of RCTs
and other clinical studies, as well as administrative databases used in health care
payment. Cost data from one or more such sources often are combined with data from
primary clinical studies, epidemiological studies, and other sources to conduct cost-
effectiveness analyses and other cost studies that involve weighing health and economic
impacts of health technology.
Interest in cost analyses has accompanied concerns about rising health care costs,
pressures on health care policymakers to allocate resources, and the need for health
product makers and other technology advocates to demonstrate the economic benefits of
their technologies. This interest is reflected in a considerable increase in the number of
reports of cost analyses in the literature and further refinement of methods.
Box 18 contrasts the valuation of costs and outcomes among these alternative economic
analyses.
Box 18
Different Types of Economic Analysis
No. No. of Additional Total cost ($) Additional Average Marginal cost
of cancers cancers of diagnosis ($) cost of cost ($) ($)
tests detected detected diagnosis per cancer per cancer
detected detected
1 65.9469 65.9469 77,511 77,511 1,175 1,175
2 71.4424 5.4956 107,690 30,179 1,507 5,492
3 71.9004 0.4580 130,199 22,509 1,810 49,150
4 71.9385 0.0382 148,116 17,917 2,059 469,534
5 71.9417 0.0032 163,141 15,024 2,268 4,724,695
6 71.9420 0.0003 176,331 13,190 2,451 47,107,214
This analysis assumed that there were 72 true cancer cases per 10,000 population. The
testing protocol provided six stool guaiac tests per person to detect colon cancer. If any
one of the six tests was positive, a barium-enema test was performed, which was assumed
to yield no falsepositive and no false-negative results. Other assumptions: the true-
positive cancer detection rate of any single guaiac test was 91.667%; the false-positive
rate of any single guaiac test was 36.508%; the cost of the first stool guaiac test was $4
and each subsequent guaiac test was $1; the cost of a barium-enema was $100. The
marginal cost per case detected depends on the population screened and the sensitivity of
the test used.
Source: Neuhauser 1975.
Discounting. Cost analyses should account for the effect of the passage of time on the
value of costs and outcomes. Costs and outcomes that occur in the future usually have
less present value than costs and outcomes realized today. Discounting reflects the time
preference for benefits earlier rather than later; it also reflects the opportunity costs of
capital, i.e., whatever returns on investment that could have been gained if resources had
been invested elsewhere. Thus, costs and outcomes should be discounted relative to their
present value (e.g., at a rate of five percent per year).
Discounting allows comparisons involving costs and benefits that flow differently over
time. It is less relevant for "pay as you go" benefits, such as if all costs and benefits are
realized together within one year. It is more relevant in instances where these do not
occur in parallel, such as when most costs are realized early and most benefits are
realized in later years. Discount rates used in cost analyses are typically based on interest
rates of government bonds or the market interest rates for the cost of capital whose
maturity is about the same as the duration of the effective time horizon of the health care
intervention of program being evaluated. Box 22 shows the basic formula for calculating
present values for a given discount rate, as well as how the present value of a cost or
benefit that is discounted at selected rates is affected over time.
Cost analyses should also correct for the effects of inflation (which is different from the
time preference accounted for by discounting), such as when costs or cost-effectiveness
for one year are compared to another year.
Sensitivity Analysis. Any estimate of costs, outcomes, and other variables used in a cost
analysis is subject to some uncertainty. Therefore, sensitivity analysis should be
performed to determine if plausible variations in the estimates of certain variables
thought to be subject to significant uncertainty affect the results of the cost analysis. A
sensitivity analysis may reveal, for example, that including indirect costs, or assuming the
use of generic as opposed to brand name drugs in a medical therapy, or using a plausible
higher discount rate in an analysis changes the cost-effectiveness of one intervention
compared to another.
Costs are bad things endured or good things lost. Cost always means
cost to do something. You cannot have a cost without a cost objective.
Most of the confusion about costs reflects a failure to be clear about
cost objectives. Nevertheless, where economists and accountants are
concerned, there is a second and equally critical source of confusion
about costs: economists and accountants use the term "cost" to mean
different although related things.
EXERCISES:----------------------------------------------------
Dan Connor, Artie Zimmer, and Bob Bruss each earn $25 per hour
(including vacations, social security, and other benefits) as automobile
mechanics at a car dealership. They are considering opening a shop
that specializes in fast-service oil changes. The projected annual cost
of the building and equipment is $60,000. On average, an oil change
requires $6 of materials (oil and oil filter). The average price of an oil
change is $20 in the shops that currently provide this service. Dan,
Artie, and Bob think that they could each perform as many as six oil
changes per hour and could charge at least $25 per oil change if they
could guarantee to return the customer's car in fifteen minutes or less.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are trying to determine whether it makes sense to buy a house or
to continue renting for $1100. You start looking at houses but decide
that you will not purchase a house unless it is more profitable than
renting. What price house is equivalent to $1100 in rent? Make several
assumptions:
3. Assume that you do not pay any principle on the mortgage, only
interest.
Now you think that you will make enough money to put yourself in a
33% tax bracket. Redo the calculation above, assuming a 33% tax
bracket, and explain in words how this affects your willingness to pay
for a house.
Suppose that you think there is a 75% chance that you will make
enough to put yourself in a 33% tax bracket, and a 25% chance that
you will stay in the 0% tax bracket. Compute the expected value of
monthly rent equivalent payment on a $250,000 house.
1. dC / dx(t) | T = T , V = V > 0
0 0
2. d C / dx(t) | T = T , V = V > 0
2 2
0 0
3. dC / dV | x = x , T = T > 0
0 0
4. d C / dV | x = x , T = T < 0
2 2
0 0
Here we will assume that the firm can choose any level of capital and
labor to produce output, Q. More capital leads to more output; less
capital to less output. More labor leads to more output; less labor to
less output. This is known as a variable proportions production
technology because labor can substitute for capital, and vice-versa, in
production.
Proof: dividing the marginal products of each input by the price of the
input tells you how much output you can produce for a dollar. If it costs
more to produce output using labor than it does using capital, then sell
labor and buy capital. This allows you to produce the same amount at
lower cost. Only when the costs of production using each input are the
same are no further cost savings possible.
Sensitivity analysis
Suppose you were uncertain about how many units you anticipated
selling. Sensitivity analysis allows you to build in uncertainty to your
analysis by determining the costs of various scenarios.
1. with p1 = .4, Q = 7
2. with p2 = .3, Q = 10
3. with p3 = .3, Q = 4; note that p3 = 1-p1-p2
Short run cost functions are larger than long run cost functions
because, in the short run, fixed inputs can not be varied. In the long
run, all inputs can be varied, and this greater flexibility allows you to
achieve lower costs, i.e. h(Q) is greater than or equal to g(Q).
A Numerical example
Suppose that the output sells for $1 per unit and that the firm can sell
all it wants at a price of $1 (infinite elasticity, or a perfectly competitive
firm). How much labor should the firm hire?
In the short run, stop producing if revenue is less than total variable
cost. In the short run, you don't have to cover your fixed costs, but you
must make enough to cover your variable costs. If not, then you can
shut down. You will still have to pay your fixed costs, but at least you
can avoid paying your variable costs (which are greater than revenue).
Break-even analysis
Set profits equal to zero to solve for how much output would be
required to "break even." Another way of asking the same question is
to ask how much quantity would be required to produce enough profit
to cover fixed costs. revenue-variable costs-fixed Costs = 0 P*Q-AVC*Q
-fixed Costs = 0 (P-AVC)*Q-fixed Costs = 0 Q = fixed Costs/(P-AVC)
Standard Costing and
Variance Analysis:
In this section of the website we study
management control and performance
measures. Quite often, these terms carry
with them negative connotations - we may
have a tendency to think of performance
measurement as something to be feared.
And indeed, performance measurements
can be used in very negative ways - to cast
blame and to punish. However, that is not
the way they should be used. Performance
measurement serves a vital function in
both personal life and in organizations.
Performance measurement can provide
feedback concerning what works and what
does not work, and it can help motivate
people to sustain their efforts.
Direct Materials
Standards and
Variance Analysis:
Direct Materials Price and Quantity
Standards:
Standard price per unit of direct materials
is the price that should be paid for a single
unit of materials, including allowances for
quality, quantity purchased, shipping,
receiving, and other such costs, net of any
discounts allowed. Click her to read full
article.
Manufacturing
Overhead Standards
and Variance
Analysis:
Manufacturing Overhead Standards:
Procedures for the establishing and using
standard factory overhead rates are similar
to the methods of dealing with the
estimated direct and indirect factory
overhead and its application to jobs and
products. Click here to read full article.
1. Controllable variance
2. Volume variance
1. Spending variance
2. Idle capacity variance
3. Efficiency variance
1. Spending variance
2. Variable efficiency variance
3. Fixed efficiency variance
4. Idle capacity variance