Economics

367. BCA challenges: over-optimism

On 7 February 2022, I presented an online workshop called “Benefit-Cost Analysis: Traps, Challenges and Best Practice” as part of the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Annual Conference. It addressed a range of challenges and complexities that arise when applying BCA in practice. Drawing from my 12-week online micro-credential course on BCA, I discussed a selection of challenges and proposed appropriate ways to address them.

I’m going to present some of the workshop recording as Pannell Discussions, in a series of segments. The first one is on avoiding over-optimism in the assumptions that are used in the BCA. This is a ubiquitous problem in BCA, and indeed in any other type of project evaluation. Dealing with it needs a multi-pronged approach.

Most of these segments will be about 10-15 minutes long, but this one is longer as there is so much to say about over-optimism. I think it’s one of the most important topics in BCA.




Brief introductory course on BCA

If you are new to BCA, here is a very introductory course, in 10 videos totalling 1 hour 14 minutes.

Comprehensive course on Applied BCA

I invite you to consider enrolling in my 12-week online course on Applied Benefit: Cost Analysis. Build your BCA expertise and gain the practical skills you need to undertake a complex Benefit: Cost Analysis. Online: high-quality video lectures and interviews, live workshops. No existing economics background required.

Discounts are available for bulk enrolments and for enrolments from selected countries. Bursaries (with a discount of more than 90%) are also available for enrolments from selected countries.

For details of content, timing, pricing and how to apply for discounts or a bursary download this flier:

Applied BCA Flier v7

The course will run again soon, starting on 28 February 2022. To enrol click here or on the image at left.

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