Benefit-cost analysis as applied to insect pest control programs

Abstract

A benefit-cost outline designed to evaluate the social value of on-going and proposed forest insect control programs is presented. Chapter two briefly discusses some economic concepts used in benefit-cost analysis. Those discussed are: consumer's surplus, social discount rate, shadow prices, characteristics of social costs, characteristics of social benefits, external effects, and risk and uncertainty. Chapters three and four discuss, respectively, the identification and measurement of social costs and benefits. Chapter five discusses the relative merits of using present net worth and the internal rate of return in evaluating pest control programs. It also discusses decision criteria under different circumstances. Finally, in chapter six, the advantages and disadvantages of benefit-cost analysis are discussed.