Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? A Benefit/Cost Analysis of the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Wolf ◽  
Michael McShane
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Private School ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Scholarship Program ◽  
Benefit Cost

School voucher programs have become a prominent aspect of the education policy landscape in the United States. The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program is the only federally funded voucher program in the United States. Since 2004 it has offered publicly funded private school vouchers to nearly four thousand students to attend any of seventy-three different private schools in Washington, DC. An official experimental evaluation of the program, sponsored by the federal government's Institute of Education Sciences, found that the students who were awarded Opportunity Scholarships graduated from high school at a rate 12 percentage points higher than the students in the randomized control group. This article estimates the benefit/cost ratio of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, primarily by considering the increased graduation rate that it induced and the estimated positive economic returns to increased educational attainment. We find a benefit to cost ratio of 2.62, or $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent on the program.

Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) and Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) Control in No-Tillage Conventional (Non–genetically engineered) Soybean Using Overlapping Residual Herbicide Programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debalin Sarangi ◽  
Amit J. Jhala
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Palmer Amaranth ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
No Till ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Herbicide Programs

AbstractDue to depressed corn and soybean prices over the last few years in the United States, growers in Nebraska are showing interest in no-tillage (hereafter referred to as no-till) conventional (non–genetically engineered [non-GE]) soybean production. Due to the increasing number of herbicide-resistant weeds in the United States, weed control in no-till non-GE soybean using POST herbicides is a challenge. The objectives of this study were to compare PRE-only, PRE followed by (fb) POST, and PRE fb POST with residual (POST-WR) herbicide programs for Palmer amaranth and velvetleaf control and soybean injury and yield, as well as to estimate the gross profit margins and benefit–cost ratio of herbicide programs. A field experiment was conducted in 2016 and 2017 at Clay Center, NE. The PRE herbicides tested in this study resulted in ≥95% Palmer amaranth and velvetleaf control at 28 d after PRE (DAPRE). Averaged across the programs, the PRE-only program controlled Palmer amaranth 66%, whereas 86% and 97% control was obtained with the PRE fb POST and PRE fb POST-WR programs, respectively, at 28 d after POST (DAPOST). At 28 DAPOST, the PRE fb POST herbicide programs controlled velvetleaf 94%, whereas the PRE-only program resulted in 85% control. Mixing soil-residual herbicides with foliar-active POST programs did not improve velvetleaf control. Averaged across herbicide programs, PRE fb POST programs increased soybean yield by 10% and 41% in 2016 and 2017, respectively, over the PRE-only programs. Moreover, PRE fb POST-WR programs produced 7% and 40% higher soybean yield in 2016 and 2017, respectively, compared with the PRE fb POST programs. The gross profit margin (US$1,184.3 ha−1) was highest under flumioxazin/pyroxasulfone (PRE) fb fluthiacet-methyl plusS-metolachlor/fomesafen (POST-WR) treatment; however, the benefit–cost ratio was highest (6.1) with the PRE-only program of flumioxazin/chlorimuron-ethyl.

Cost–Benefit Analysis of Rural and Small Urban Transit in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 2533 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjit Prasad Godavarthy ◽  
Jeremy Mattson ◽  
Elvis Ndembe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Urban Transit ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
True Value ◽  
Benefit Cost

The true value of transit systems in rural and small urban areas in the United States has been largely unmeasured, and there are often effects that go unidentified. Many studies have documented the benefits of urban transit systems with benefit–cost analysis. However, not many have looked into the benefits of transit in rural and small urban areas, where there is a great need for public transit, especially for transportation-disadvantaged individuals. This study focused on evaluating the qualitative and quantitative benefits of rural and small urban public transit systems and analyzed the benefit–cost ratio for rural and small urban transit areas for fixed-route and demand-response services in the United States. Data for rural and small urban transit systems from the national transit database (NTD) and rural NTD were used for calibrating the transit benefits and costs. Results were presented at a national level to show the effects of transit investments in rural and small urban areas nationally. Transit benefits in the United States for 2011 were found to be $1.6 billion for rural transit and $3.7 billion for small urban transit, not including the economic effects. Results showed a benefit–cost ratio of 2.16 for small urban transit and 1.20 for rural transit in the United States. Sensitivity analysis showed that increasing the percentage of forgone trips to 50%, increasing the cost of forgone medical and work trips by 25%, and increasing the percentage of medical trips to 30% substantially increased the total transit benefits by 88%, 20%, and 158%, respectively.

scholarly journals The Benefit-Cost Ratio in Resource Development Planning

1971 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-166
Author(s):  
George A. Pavelis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Resource Development ◽  
Resource Planning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Production Theory ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Complete Treatment ◽  
Benefit Cost

The stimulus for this article was an observation that resource development in the United States is of a lumpy or whole project-by-project character. We seem to have looked at resource development proposals in isolation from other worthwhile activities and to have been preoccupied with the magnitude of “benefit-cost ratios” in evaluating and comparing individual resource development activities, projects, or programs. Unless properly interpreted, however, such ratios can mislead planners and legislators to invest capital and other inputs in a way that leads to a less than fully efficient pattern of resource development, even where the objective is only to maximize quantifiable monetary benefits. Accordingly, this analysis examines the “benefit-cost ratio” in the context of an income-producing efficiency objective and elementary production theory. Such other currently emphasized objectives as environmental quality improvement are treated implicitly, though not within a multiobjective framework. For a more complete treatment of these see Miller and Holloway [9] who have illustrated an application of multiobjective resource planning principles recently issued by the Water Resources Council [15]. Other particular papers and reports dealing with multiobjective resource development planning are [3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13 and 14].

scholarly journals Evaluating Public Programs with Close Substitutes: The Case of Head Start*

2016 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 1795-1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Kline ◽  
Christopher R. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Head Start ◽  
Test Score ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Public Programs ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fiscal Impacts ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Benefit Cost

Abstract We use data from the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Head Start, the largest early childhood education program in the United States. Head Start draws roughly a third of its participants from competing preschool programs, many of which receive public funds. We show that accounting for the fiscal impacts of such program substitution pushes estimates of Head Start’s benefit-cost ratio well above one under a wide range of assumptions on the structure of the market for preschool services and the dollar value of test score gains. To parse the program’s test score impacts relative to home care and competing preschools, we selection-correct test scores in each care environment using excluded interactions between experimental assignments and household characteristics. We find that Head Start generates larger test score gains for children who would not otherwise attend preschool and for children who are less likely to participate in the program.

A Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Kings County District Attorney's Office Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) Program

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary A. Zarkin ◽  
Laura J. Dunlap ◽  
Steven Belenko ◽  
Paul A. Dynia
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Drug Treatment ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Treatment Alternative ◽  
Drug Offenders ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Kings County ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Benefit Cost

In October 1990, the Kings County (Brooklyn, NY) District Attorney's Office implemented the Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program to divert nonviolent felony drug offenders from prison to community-based residential drug treatment. This article presents an estimate of the costs and benefits of the DTAP program based on a cohort of DTAP participants and prison comparisons who entered treatment or prison in 1995–1996 and were tracked for 6 years. The analysis focuses on the criminal justice system (CJS) costs associated with criminal recidivism. Findings show that the DTAP program is cost-beneficial compared to the usual criminal justice process (benefit-cost ratio equals 2.17 after 6 years).

Problematic Status of Corporate Regulation in the United States: Towards a New Moral Order

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 705-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
G L Clark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
The United States ◽  
Corporate Restructuring ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Contractual Agreements ◽  
Benefit Cost

Evidence on the geographical dimensions of corporate restructuring in the United States suggests that, if left to themselves, corporations often break the law or at least the spirit of law in furthering their economic interests. The design and implementation of restructuring involving the spatial relocation of work is in many instances conceived with the goal of circumventing corporations' social obligations. Workers' pension entitlements (and their contractual agreements with corporations on many other matters) are at risk when the economic imperatives of competition and technical innovation are the driving forces behind corporations' actions. These issues are explored with respect to rational choice theory, advancing an argument to the effect that if corporate restructuring is only understood in these terms, the prospects for effective public regulation are bleak indeed. A regulatory framework that explicitly references moral standards could be, however, more effective because the terms of evaluation would be legitimately other than simple benefit-cost analysis. This last argument is briefly illustrated by reference to the moral component inherent in making contracts between agents.

scholarly journals Benefit Cost Analysis of Different Rice Varieties in Kapilvastu District, Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-226
Author(s):  
Sundar Sapkota ◽  
Sanjib Sapkota
Keyword(s):  
Rice Variety ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Benefit Cost

Rice is an annual plant belongs to family Poaceae. It is the major staple food crop of Nepal and can be grown from plain to mountainous regions of Nepal. The crop varieties differ from each other in terms of production cost, gross return and gross margin. The objective of this study was to analyze benefit cost ratio for production of different rice varieties. The study was carried out in Kapilvastu district of Nepal in 2018. A sample size of 120 respondents were selected randomly. Four different rice varieties: Gorakhnath, Radha-4, Ramdhan, and Sawa were used for the study. The primary data were collected through household survey using interview schedule. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel. The average cost of production was amounted to NRs. 77,100/ha for all four rice varieties. Sawa variety had the highest gross return (NRs. 1,01,212.5/ha). The benefit cost ratio was observed highest for Sawa (1.312) and lowest for Radha-4 variety (1.005). Sawa is the most economic rice variety in terms of gross and net production in the study area. The findings will help farmers to choose and cultivate rice variety with greater profitability. It is recommended that concerned authorities should give emphasis on subsidies, farmers training and ensuring floor price of rice.  Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 222-226

scholarly journals The Feasibility of a Land Ferry System to Reduce Highway Maintenance Cost and Associated Externalities

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve J. Merrill ◽  
Alexander Paz ◽  
Victor Molano ◽  
Pramen P. Shrestha ◽  
Pankaj Maheshwari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Maintenance Cost ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Construction Period ◽  
Pavement Maintenance ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Loading System ◽  
Heavy Loads ◽  
Benefit Cost

This study provides an economic evaluation for a Land Ferry, which is a rail system capable of carrying trucks and all other types of vehicles, passengers, and cargo. The Land Ferry system involves a sliding loading system to roll heavy loads onto a flatbed; as a result, loading and unloading of all vehicles and cargo could be accomplished simultaneously. The evaluation for this system included (1) the design of a new track alignment over which the Land Ferry system would run, (2) evaluation of various sources of power, (3) estimation of how many local jobs the Land Ferry would generate, and (4) a benefit-cost analysis. It was estimated that the Land Ferry would create over 45,788 temporary jobs in Nevada during the three-year construction period and 318 permanent jobs during operation. The majority of the benefits were attributed to savings in travel time ($356.4 M), vehicle operating costs ($1000.4 M), reduction of accidents ($544.6 M), and pavement maintenance ($503.2 M). These benefits would be a consequence of the shift of trucks from the highway, thus resulting in higher speeds, decrease fuel consumption, and decrease vehicle maintenance costs. The overall benefit-cost ratio of 1.7 implies a cost-effective project.

A Hybrid Approach Based on the Fuzzy AHP and Benefit Cost Analysis to Evaluating Cutting Blade Alternatives

2013 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 513-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Wei Xu ◽  
Jin Yao ◽  
Jun Li
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Manufacturing Systems ◽  
Fuzzy Ahp ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Manufacturing Cost ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Consumption Cost ◽  
Benefit Cost

The cutting blade selection has been important issue for manufacturing systems due to the fact that it might affect productivity, precision and manufacturing cost. It is a multiple-criteria decision making problem for evaluating blade alternatives. In this paper, the hybrid approach is discussed,which combined the fuzzy AHP and benefit cost analysis. An improved AHP method based on triangular fuzzy number is used to analyze the cutting performance of blade alternatives. It can make up for the deficiency in the conventional AHP. Furthermore, the benefit cost analysis is carried out to evaluate the economic performance of alternatives. The benefit cost ratio is calculated by using the fuzzy AHP score and tool consumption cost. Tool consumption cost is obtained in consideration of tool service life and procurement cost. The optimal blade alternative with highest benefit/cost ratio can be found out. In addition, the proposed approach is also illustrated on a sample case study.

Case Study of Benefit–Cost Analysis of an Intercity Passenger Rail Service

2017 ◽  
Vol 2608 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Francis E. Loetterle ◽  
Melanie Johnson ◽  
Charles Quandel ◽  
Carey Barr ◽  
Andrew Komendantov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Benefit Cost Ratio ◽  
Project Assessment ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Target Field ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Rail Service

The economic assessment of transportation projects is evolving from a reliance on user benefits (travel time, cost, or safety) to encompass a wider spectrum of potential benefits, fostered by advances in economics and recognition that different project modes deliver different portfolios of benefits. Sponsors develop projects to address specific problems in their communities. This progression in how investments are evaluated opens the door for projects whose outcomes span a variety of benefit categories rather than concentrating on traditional user benefits and permits an improved intermodal comparison of candidate investments. Transit and intercity rail projects are particular beneficiaries of the broader project assessment approach. This paper presents a case study of how a comprehensive approach to project assessment was applied to the Northern Lights Express project that would reintroduce passenger rail service between the cities of Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, the state's largest economies. Owned and operated by BNSF Railway, Amtrak's service in the corridor ended in 1985. Six stations are planned: Target Field in Minneapolis; stations in Coon Rapids, Cambridge, and Hinckley, Minnesota; a station in Superior, Wisconsin; and Union Depot in Duluth. The goal for the analysis was threefold: ( a) to confirm that the investment would yield a positive return; ( b) to communicate with partners, stakeholders, and the public about the project's expected outcomes; and ( c) to contribute to the selection of an alternative. The benefit–cost ratio was estimated for eight alternatives that varied by physical alignment and service plan.

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