Task 1 – Project Selection (10% of total grade)
By browsing the address discussed below, identify two options for the project or policy you would like to focus on for this assignment using the instructions below. See the full instructions for handing in your choices below. The faculty will review the selected projects to ensure each student has selected a unique project. Priority will be given to those who submit their choices first. In the event that both your first and second choices have already been selected, the faculty will contact you directly to select a new project. (Note: It may be a good idea to NOT select the first project that shows up in search, as a lot of students pick them, resulting in those students being told to pick up another option.)
Priority will be given to those who submit their choices first. In the event that both your first and second choices have already been selected, the faculty will contact you directly to select a new project.
The project you select must have an economic analysis included in the project/policy document you are basing your analysis on. Purely qualitative analyses or studies that do not have any cost-benefit analysis will not be approved.
You can find World Bank projects using the following steps:
You can find Government of Canada projects using the following steps:
Task 2 – CBA Review (90% of total grade)
Once the choice in task 1 is approved, you can proceed with conducting a review of the project appraisal or regulatory impact analysis. Your analysis should be no longer than 2,000 words including citations and references and should be submitted to OnQ by 11:59pm EST on December 15, 2022.
(Note, this needs to be your own analysis, and NOT a copy of paragraphs of text without your own thoughts/analysis/interpretation).
This review must come with the following parts:
Part 1: Identify and briefly describe the sources of costs and benefits (40% of total grade)
What are the main sources of economic benefits and costs listed in the project/policy document? How are the benefits estimated? You need to provide a high-level description of the required inputs and their relationship to the benefit or cost. For each benefit and cost (impact) include the name and brief paragraph about the methodology and assumptions. For a transport project, for instance, the benefits for the traffic might be estimated as the difference in traveling cost with and without the project, using values for speed, volume, time-value, and vehicle operating costs.
Part 2: Stakeholders affected by the project (20% of total grade)
Who are the stakeholders affected by each of the costs or benefits listed under the previous question? Are the benefits equally distributed among the subgroups of society? Are there unequal impacts on different subgroups based on gender, age, income, or location?
Part 3: How can this analysis be improved? (30% of total grade)
Can you suggest ways in which the analysis conducted by the economist can be improved or presented better? You should consult the course material, the World Bank’s guidance document on economic analysis (see pages 11 to 15 on this document) or the Government of Canada’s Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide for reference on what could be considered.
Important Hints/Notes