The cost-benefit concept in the economic assessment of the effectiveness of investments in public projects

Abstract

The concept of costs and benefits is a concept that analyzes public (social) benefits and public (social) costs in the implementation of public or commercial investments. In general, the concept is aimed at assessing the social (public) consequences of the implementation of a specific investment project, which actualizes the content of this study, since commercial evaluation of investment projects is a "traditional" and understandable mechanism, unlike public or social evaluation. The object of the study is investments that have public (social) significance at different levels of participation of all stakeholders. The subject of the study is the mechanism for implementing the concept of costs and benefits in the implementation of a specific investment project. The purpose of the study is to reveal the content of cost–benefit analysis in foreign and domestic practice. Research methodology – theoretical methods of analyzing economic knowledge on a heuristic basis according to generally accepted methods of scientific cognition. The results of the study: 1. The section Materials and methods includes the content of cost-benefit analysis in the following areas: commercial, budgetary, public projects; 2. It is explained that the concept of budget effect from the implementation and development of investments is mainly a characteristic of domestic practice of economic evaluation of investment projects; 3. In the section Research results based on the theoretical analysis, the authors highlight the entire process calculation of public (social) utility (profitability) or social costs and benefits in the form of five stages; 4. In the Discussion section, the existing specific disadvantages of cost-benefit analysis are highlighted, which should be offset by the scaling of scientific research in the subject area.