SOSIPING, OR SOPHISTICAL OBFUSCATION OF SELF-INTEREST AND PREJUDICE. A MULTIVARIATE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS APPROACH TO TRANSPORT PLANNING

Cost-benefit analysis tries to rationalize planning by giving notional monetary values to the factors involved, such as safety, health, convenience or environment. In reality no-one can say what human life, health, quiet, or even time are worth, and the assigned monetary values merely reflect the planner's prejudices. As well as positive deception, cost-benefit analysis misleads by importing so much complexity into planning as to conceal the fact that public authorities and their somewhat less visible backers often worsen the life of many in the interests of a few. Instead of current cost-benefit analysis, which is often just sosiping, statisticians, economists and operational research workers should concentrate on multivariate cost-benefit analysis. This displays clearly the costs, advantages and disadvantages of alternative schemes, including not having a scheme, so that decision-makers and public can see clearly who is being planned for and who is being planned against. /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  Pergamon Press, Incorporated

  Maxwell House, Fairview Park
  Elmsford, NY  United States  10523
• Authors:
  • Stern, GJA
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Photos;
• Pagination: p. 915-929
• Serial:
  • Operational Research Quarterly /UK/
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue Number: 4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Decision making; Economics; Environment; Multivariate analysis; Socioeconomic factors; Transportation operations; Transportation planning
• Old TRIS Terms: Transportation administration
• ITRD Terms: 226: Cost benefit analysis; 255: Economics; 2455: Environment; 6440: Error; 2755: Highway; 9102: Method; 143: Planning
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Economics; Highways; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00152841
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Analytic
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 2 1977 12:00AM