The Grand Canyon Controversy : Lessons for Federal Cost-Benefit Practices.
Expert InsightsPublished 1967
A review and analysis of the economic controversy over the proposed Grand Canyon dams. Several federal evaluation practices not fully developed in previous analyses of Senate Document 97 are pointed out: use of the wording "most likely" to exclude lower cost alternatives from consideration; inclusion of taxes and higher interest rates in evaluating a private alternative; unreasonable assumptions with regard to transmission costs of alternatives; and inadequate interest used in computing cost when rates are relatively high. However, the real problem is more likely to be the political realities of the situation than ignorance of economic principles. 25 pp.
Document Details
- Copyright: RAND Corporation
- Availability: Web Only
- Year: 1967
- Pages: 25
- Document Number: P-3505-1
Citation
RAND Style Manual
Chicago Manual of Style
This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.