An assessment of present state and possible improvementsof cost-benefit analysis in France

Résumé En

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has a long history in France and is quite widely used; every investment funded bythe State is now subject to appraisal. CBA implementation is guided by the reports of working teams which areregularly commissioned and issue recommendations every five to ten years. These recommendations providereference unit values such as the value of time, values for pollution or for carbon dioxide emissions; they providealso some values for parameters like the discount rate or the opportunity cost of public funds, and rules forcalculating residual values or choosing the horizon of appraisal, as well as the definition of aggregated socioeconomicindicators. The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the conclusions of the most recent of theseworking teams, which has made an assessment of the current practice of CBA in France and proposes a large setof improvements. Both technical issues of CBA achievement and issues of CBA governance are addressed.