The wider economic benefits of transport : macro-, meso- and micro-economic transport planning and investment tools ; Round Table 140

The Round Table evaluated the relevance of research on the wider economic impacts of investments in transport infrastructure for the practice of project appraisal. This paper comprises the Round Table's presentations and discussions. The standard cost-benefit analysis of transport infrastructure investment projects weighs a project's costs against users' benefits. This approach has been challenged on the grounds that it ignores wider economic impacts of such projects. Leading academics and practitioners addressed these concerns and examined a range of potential approaches for evaluating wider impacts. They concluded that for smaller projects, it is better to focus on timely availability of results, even if this means forgoing sophisticated analysis of wider impacts. For larger projects or investment programs, customized analysis of these effects is more easily justifiable. Creating consistent appraisal procedures is a research priority.