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Benefit-Cost Analysis, Policy Impacts, and Congressional Hearings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2019

Deven Carlson ,
Joseph Ripberger ,
Wesley Wehde ,
Hank Jenkins-Smith ,
Carol Silva ,
Kuhika Gupta ,
Benjamin Jones  and
Robert Berrens
Deven Carlson*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: decarlson@ou.edu
Joseph Ripberger
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: jtr@ou.edu
Wesley Wehde
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: wwwehde@ou.edu
Hank Jenkins-Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: hjsmith@ou.edu
Carol Silva
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: clsilva@ou.edu
Kuhika Gupta
Affiliation:
Center for Risk and Crisis Management, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73069, USA, e-mail: kuhikagupta@ou.edu
Benjamin Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, USA, e-mail: bajones@unm.edu
Robert Berrens
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, 87131, USA, e-mail: rberrens@unm.edu
*
*e-mail: decarlson@ou.edu
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Abstract

Methods for identifying relevant policy impacts for valuation in benefit-cost analyses (BCAs) have received relatively little attention in academic research, applied policy analyses, and guidance documents. In this paper, we develop a systematic, transparent, and replicable process that draws upon information contained in records of Congressional hearings to identify relevant policy impacts for valuation in a BCA. Our approach involves classifying – and subsequently analyzing – statements from witnesses testifying in Congressional hearings on the topic of the BCA. By using Congressional hearings as the basis for our approach, we are identifying potential policy impacts from information provided during the very process the BCA is intended to inform. However, because this approach is quite resource-intensive and would be somewhat burdensome for agencies to implement, it may be best applied in the academic realm, with identified impacts resulting from such applications then made available to agency personnel for potential inclusion in BCAs. Using the case of the Glen Canyon Dam, we demonstrate the approach and its resulting improvements in the quality and transparency of the BCA it was intended to inform.

Keywords

D61H1cost-benefit analysisCongressional hearingspolicy impacts
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , Spring 2019 , pp. 65 - 94
Copyright
© Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis 2019 

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