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Course 164 · Money course 35

Evaluate Public-Spending Costs and Benefits

Practice evaluate public-spending costs and benefits with complete fictional records, worked calculations and changed-input checks.

Before you start

Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.

Participate in Local Decisions See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A financial appraisal of a fictional community investment with counterfactual, incremental costs, discounted values, distribution and sensitivity.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ practicing independently; adult-only transactions are studied as fictional future decisions.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use the supplied fictional case; paper and a calculator are sufficient.
  • Recommended preparation: Participate in Local Decisions. Do not supply private financial documents.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A financial appraisal of a fictional community investment with counterfactual, incremental costs, discounted values, distribution and sensitivity.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A baseline/project comparison with incremental service and scope.
  • An incremental resource-cost and transfer-incidence table.
  • A dated present-value worksheet with real/nominal consistency.
  • A deduplicated benefit inventory with valuation limits.
  • A base/low net-value table and distribution note.
  • A completed fictional public-spending financial appraisal.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All supplied records reconcile and the decision uses the named case rules.
  • Calculations show units, intermediate values and a second check.
  • Changed-input practice revises the affected result and identifies uncertainty.
  • The final project combines six lesson records, separates fictional assumptions from current rules, and states a supported next step.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Trace the money

For evaluate public-spending costs and benefits, keep the source amount, transformation and resulting balance together.

02

Keep the assumption visible

Use the stated rate, date, permission and case rule; a real arrangement can produce a different result.

03

Test the decision

Use a changed input and a clear stop or review condition before turning this practice into an action.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Counterfactual
The stated outcome that would occur without the proposed project.
Incremental
The change between the project and its comparison alternative.
Discounting
Expressing dated future values on a common present-date basis.
Distribution
Who bears a cost or receives a benefit rather than only the aggregate total.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Define the no-project baseline

    Calculate incremental service against a stated no-project counterfactual.

  2. 2
    11 min

    Separate incremental resources from transfers

    Classify changed resources, unchanged costs and funding transfers in a limited public appraisal.

  3. 3
    15 min

    Discount timed public costs and benefits

    Calculate a discounted public-benefit present value under an explicit fictional rate.

  4. 4
    11 min

    Compare benefits without double counting

    Audit benefit labels for overlap and distinguish priced from unpriced outcomes.

  5. 5
    13 min

    Test sensitivity and distribution

    Calculate public-appraisal sensitivity and record who bears transfers and benefits.

  6. 6
    15 min

    Write a qualified public investment appraisal

    Combine counterfactual, present values, overlap and uncertainty into a conditional public-investment brief.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Evaluate Public-Spending Costs and Benefits practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

EPA — Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses, 3rd Edition
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

EPA — Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses: Discounting Future Benefits and Costs (2010 archived chapter)
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable archived EPA Chapter 6 PDF inspected for the present-value method only; this is not current required discount-rate guidance.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

EPA — Economic and Cost Analysis for Air Pollution Regulations
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one