Cost-benefit analysis

A process of assessing the feasibility and profitability of a public-sector project or business decision. As the name suggests, all the potential costs are compared with the potential revenues and other benefits. Although the idea is sound, the estimates are subject to a lot of uncertainty. Building projects are notorious for running over time and over budget. Quantifying non-monetary factors (eg, the value of life or the environment) is difficult—and controversial: see this Explainer and this article.