Working Paper: NBER ID: w30005
Authors: Jorge Luis Garcia; James J. Heckman
Abstract: This paper examines the economic foundations of some recently proposed criteria for evaluating the benefits of social programs. These criteria are appropriate for comparing a class of revenue-constant policies. They replace foundational principles of social opportunity costs with accounting conventions from the point of view of government bureaucrats. They do not address the question of social optimality associated with programs that expand or contract the government budget.
Keywords: social programs; evaluation criteria; marginal value of public funds; net social benefit
JEL Codes: D61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| MVPF criterion (C52) | flawed evaluation of social programs (H53) |
| MVPF criterion (C52) | does not address social optimality of government budgets (H19) |
| MVPF fails to account for broader implications (D79) | limits applicability in evaluating programs (C52) |
| valid evaluation criterion must consider NSB (C52) | reflects true social impact of a program (I24) |
| MVPF prioritizes government revenue generation (H27) | does not enhance overall societal welfare (D69) |