In this book, Alessandro Ferrara focuses on the provision of public investment and level of governmental intervention in Europe and the USA with particularly reference to the EU Cohesion Policy and the US Federal Investment Policies.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the systematic and analytical process of comparing benefits and costs in evaluating the desirability of a project or programme, often of a social nature and for society as a whole. CBA is fundamental to government decision-making and can be an effective tool for informed decisions on the use of society's scarce resources. This book highlights the main concepts and principles of cost-benefit analysis used in real life cases and actual applications. The book contains rich cases, materials and examples of real life CBA applications with emphasis both on physical and non-physical projects and infrastructure developments in Asia and beyond. The book also discusses techniques frequently used in applied CBA. The first part of the book introduces the key concepts and principles of CBA before Part Two covers some pertinent issues relating to CBA, such as the recent trend of using behavioural economics and frequently used techniques in applied CBA. Finally, in Part Three, case studies are written up to illustrate how CBA is done, and questions for the readers and students to ponder are raised at the end of each chapter. The scope of the case studies is more than just physical infrastructures but will include public sector policies and programmes covering a host of social policies as in health, education, social welfare programmes, and the environment. For each case, there will be illustrations of the key concepts and principles of CBA used. Undertakings analyzed include: the Three Gorges Dam in China the 2008 Beijing Olympics the Costs of Global Warming the Jamuna Bridge in Bangladesh The case studies, many of which have taken or are to take place in developing countries provide a rich background to the principles of the method, and are accompanied by a wealth of explanatory material. As well as being suitable for courses in Cost-Benefit Analysis, Public Finance, Environmental and Health Economics, the book should be of interest to all public policy decision makers and planners.

This book offers a unique analytic framework for assessing multi-level governance arrangements, which is subsequently applied to five case studies of regional development policy: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

This report addresses multilevel governance challenges in water policy implementation and identifies good practices for coordinating water policy across ministries, between levels of government, and across local actors at subnational level.

During the crisis, many countries invested in infrastructure as part of their stimulus packages, and sub-national governments played an implementing role. This book examines the challenges faced in multi-level governance.

The report suggests steps Sweden can take to address its regional and rural policy challenges. It also assesses to what degree Sweden has implemented the recommendations made in the 2010 OECD Territorial Review of Sweden.

The report presents a diagnosis of Portugal multi-level governance in international perspectives and highlights the strengths and challenges of the system. It then presents three potential policy paths of regional reform for Portugal. As the options are not mutually exclusive, they could work as complements to each other. The report analyses the conditions under which the reforms may deliver more economic efficiency and regional equity.

Politics and the Environment has established itself as one of the most comprehensive textbooks in this area. This new edition has been completely revised and updated whilst retaining the features and the theory-to-practice focus which made the first two editions so successful. This text is designed to introduce students to the key concepts and issues which surround environmental problems and their political solutions. The authors investigate the people, movements and organisations that form and implement these policies, and explore the barriers which hinder successful introduction of international environmental politics. The 3rd edition has been expanded to include: The shift in focus in environmental politics from sustainable development to climate change governance An extensive discussion on climate change: including institutional, national and global responses in the aftermath of the Kyoto protocol An increased international focus with more case studies from the UK, Europe, Australia and North America More discussion of global environmental social movements: including the US environmental organisations, in particular the Green Party and the environmental justice groups This textbook is an invaluable and accessible resource for undergraduates studying environmental politics.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Politics - Miscellaneous, grade: B, 49 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: On the current wave in the governance arena e-governance has become a concern of key consideration around all the concerned quarter and has become an issue of public concentration. In the era of information super highway people around the world are making their lives more comfortable. This helps them in saving time and money and invoking improved service delivery by the government agencies. Examining the cot-benefit analysis of e-governance is of much importance for deciding whether this mechanism is really improving the lifestyle of the citizenry and the public expenditure utilized in this purpose is duly evaluated. The implication of cost-benefit analysis of e-governance is of much significance in determining the justifiability of a newer concept in governance mechanism in the countries around the world. ...]