CBA for sustainable governance

Some public decisions have consequences that last for decades, shaping future infrastructure, environmental outcomes, fiscal pressures and the choices available to future generations.

This talk explores how cost-benefit analysis can support sustainable governance in those long-term decisions. Rather than focusing on how to conduct a CBA, it asks what role CBA should play when governments must weigh quantified evidence alongside stewardship, accountability and the long-term public interest.

The central argument is that good governance does not require abandoning CBA, but using it as part of a broader decision framework for choices whose consequences extend well into the future.