Showing papers in "Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education in 1985"
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The issue of applying economic benefit-cost tests to public investment projects first arose in the United States during the great economic depression of the 1930s as discussed by the authors, when massive programs of pub lic works were mounted to provide jobs and to stimulate the collapsed economy.
Abstract: PRE-WAR BEGINNINGS The issue of applying economic benefit-cost tests t o public investment projects first arose in the United States (U.S.) during the great econom ic depression of the 1930s. Under the “New Deal” administration of Franklin Roosevelt, massive programs of pub lic works were mounted to provide jobs and to stimulate the collapsed economy. The question soon arose of how to assess the social worth or value of individual projects. It was apparent that the customary financial pay-out tests applied to private investment projects were not ap propriate for most public projects such as highways, reservoirs, canals, and harbors. Y et, few satisfactory tests of econ omic worth for public projects had been developed, largely because the need for such tests had not been perceived as important.
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