You are correct. What Cost Benefit people do is to look at willingness to pay & implicitly assume that $1 = $1 util.
On Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 06:00:23PM -0800, ken hanly wrote: > > But my understanding is that utility cannot be > measured except in any but ordinal terms that is by > ranking preferences. If marginal utility can be > represented by dollars then doesn't that imply that > there can be interpersonal comparisons of utility? > > > --- Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Nov 13, 2007 12:49 PM, ken hanly > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > If this is so how does one make the transition to > > > measurement of cost and benefits in monetary terms > > > that is the typical mode of analysis in applied > > cost > > > benefit analysis? Doesn't the measurement in > > monetary > > > units assume there is some interpersonal utility > > that > > > is measurable in these units? > > > > Isn't it assumed that the market price of any item > > approximates its > > marginal utility? > > > > -- > > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le > > genti." (Go your own > > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing > > Dante. > > > > > Blog: http://kenthink7.blogspot.com/index.html > Blog: http://kencan7.blogspot.com/index.html -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
