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

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. Since there is empirical evidence that these effects can be substantial, relying on the standard approach potentially produces misleading results. At the International Transport Forum Round Table, leading academics and practitioners addressed these concerns and examined a range of potential approaches for evaluating wider impacts - negative as well as positive. 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.