Cost-Benefit Analysis: Economic, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives

by Matthew D. Adler, Eric A. Posner

Overview

Cost-benefit analysis is a widely used governmental evaluation tool, though academics remain skeptical. This volume gathers prominent contributors from law, economics, and philosophy for discussion of cost-benefit analysis, specifically its moral foundations, applications and limitations.

This new scholarly debate includes not only economists, but also contributors from philosophy, cognitive psychology, legal studies, and public policy who can further illuminate the justification and moral implications of this method and specify alternative measures.

These articles originally appeared in the Journal of Legal Studies.

Contributors:
- Matthew D. Adler - Gary S. Becker
- John Broome - Robert H. Frank
- Robert W. Hahn - Lewis A. Kornhauser
- Martha C. Nussbaum - Eric A. Posner
- Richard A. Posner - Henry S. Richardson
- Amartya Sen - Cass R. Sunstein
- W. Kip Viscusi

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226007632
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press Journals
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Edition description:	1
Pages:	345
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Matthew D. Adler is a professor of law at the Unversity of Pennsylvania and co-author of Rethinking Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Eric A. Posner is a professor law at the University of Chicago Law School and author and editor of several books including Law and Social Norms.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Risk Equity
State and Federal Regulatory Reform: A Comparative Analysis
Why Is Cost-Benefit Analysis So Controversial?
The Discipline of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis and Population
The Stupidity of the Cost-Benefit Standard
The Costs of Tragedy: Some Moral Limits of Cost-Benefit Analysis
On Justifying Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cognition and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Implmenting Cost-Benefit Analysis When Preferences Are Distorted
A Comment on the Conference on Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Definition, Justification, and Comment on Conference Papers
Index