Social benefit

Chauncey Starr, Social Benefit versus Technological Risk, Science, Vol. 165, September 19, 1969, pp. 1232-1238. 

Nowhere is this concern with individual rights more crucial than in questions concerning the justice of energy policy. Distributive justice demands that the benefits and burdens of energy policy be distributed in ways that respect the equal dignity and worth of every individual. A prims facie violation of justice occurs when social benefits and burdens are distributed unequally. Particularly troubling inequalities occur when the benefits of policy go to the powerful and wealthy, while the burdens are distributed primarily among the poor and less powerful. 

Proponents of the laboratories counter that, despite these shortcomings, the laboratories seiwe a vital mission of undertaking the high risk and expensive investments that the private sector would never agree to invest in. Although natural gas research and development was minimal, DOE support accelerated technological advances on natural gas-fired turbines. Much of the research and development at the laboratories has provided a net social benefit to the nation and economy, work such as safe nuclear reactors and the development of sophisticated defense weapons. 

In these restructured electric markets, prices will be determined more by market forces and less by regulatory proceedings. To some, introducing competition will promote more efficient markets, providing the proper financial incentives for firms to enter or leave the industiy. In this way, consumers will benefit from lower production costs and, hcncc, reduced electricity prices. To others, restructuring will increase electricity prices for some customers, sacrifice the current environmental and social benefits, and jeopardize system reliability of the status quo. 

Urban, rural and industrial developments may have profound effects on the surrounding environment. Such effects can defeat the object of development, in that the negative environmental impact may outweigh the benefits. In the case of natural resources, inappropriate development may even destroy the resource base. If environmental matters are accorded adequate consideration during the planning and management of development programs and projects it is possible for pollutants to be assimilated. As a result, the whole development can be accommodated by the environment in such a way that adverse effects are minimized and the economic and social benefits of development are maximized. 

An ElA can be particularly useful in distinguishing the relative environmental impact of alternative sites, processes and strategies for industrial, rural or urban development. Decision-makers to choose the alternative that will provide maximum economic and social benefits with the minimum of environmental disturbance can then use this essential environmental information, together with financial and political considerations. Guidelines for assessing... 

Cost-benefit analysis uses monetary valuations of the morbidity and mortality consequences of diseases or interventions. This allows estimation of the absolute and relative net social benefit of intervention, calculated as the monetary value of the consequences of an intervention minus the direct costs. Any health or social care intervention with a net social benefit greater than zero (i.e. the benefits are greater than the costs) is worth undertaking. Two approaches have typically been used to value outcomes in monetary values. The first is the human capital approach, where the monetary value of benefit represents the value of changes in the amount or type of work done or use of leisure time as... 

Difficulties will arise in expressing functions that depend on value judgements for example, the social benefits and the social costs that arise from pollution. 

In general, economic inefficiency in resource allocation would be the result of a divergence between private benefits or costs and social benefits or costs, i.e. the result of externalities. Private costs (or internal costs) are directly taken by the buyer. Private costs for a transport user would, for example, include expenses for wear and tear, energy cost of vehicle use, transport fares, taxes and charges, as well as welfare effects such as own time costs. 

The value for society of a studied scenario or policy is described by the net social benefit (NSB) ... 

Those inventions that are valuable for society, which include innovative pharmaceuticals, generate positive externalities, that is, the benefits falls to society at large. The sum of these benefits gives the social benefit or value of the invention. In this way, patents represent the appropriation of part of this social value. Naturally, when businesses decide to undertake a project they do so with their own benefit in mind. Some research, particularly basic research, might not be undertaken in these circumstances, and therefore governments decide to invest to fill the gap that may be left by the patent system. Basic research allows the development of multiple applications and the discovery of scientific principles. The field of genetics is a prime example of this. 

In short, the imperfections of the pharmaceutical market cause (a) less price sensitivity on the demand side, (b) a certain amount of market power on the supply side, and (c) demand curves that do not reflect the true social benefit. Demand for pharmaceuticals is greater and less price-elastic than it should be. The reason for this is that consumers have little price sensitivity, especially under insurance coverage. 

In the late 1970 s, the country s mood changed to accept not just some risk, but to include in the decision equation, specific consideration for economic factors, social benefits and impact on jobs. And so, the Clean Air Act was amended in 1977, changing the thrust of the law to include economic and practical considerations in carrying out the mandate of that law. And so too, the TSCA law that finally passed in late 1976, was a "balancing law," the first really true balancing law to be passed by Congress. It con-... 

W. Mabee, Economic, Environmental and Social Benefits of 2ni Generation Biofuels in Canada, BIOCAP Canada March 2006. (http //www.biocap.ca/rif/report/ Mabee W.pdf). 

Strictly applied, some Edgewood studies probably violated Memorandum 385. But the definition of fruitful results for the good of society poses a semantic problem. Some of the drug research carried out at universities with civilian volunteers in the 1960s might also be difficult to justify, if no particular social benefits were anticipated. Many critics eagerly discuss the broader question of whether chemical warfare research can ever be good for society. 

The NMFS role in fisheries development is catalytic in nature by encouraging and assisting in the achievement of full utilization of U.S. fishery resources to derive maximum economic and social benefits from those resources under U.S. jurisdiction. In practical terms, this will require greater initiative on the part of the commercial and recreational fishing industries to utilize America s non-traditional fish species, while the Federal Government will work to reduce foreign fishing in our fishery conservation zone and remove or reduce other impediments. 

The FCC unit can be easily converted to MIP-CGP operation mode with minimal revamping costs. Today, more than 20 FCC units operating in MIP-CGP mode have been put into operation in China, resulting in great economic and social benefits. 

As we have already documented, a major market failure is the absence of incentives to develop some drugs that potentially have important social benefits, but that are not currently being developed, in large part because pharmaceutical manufacturers lack an adequate incentive to engage in R D to develop such socially beneficial products. Several types of vaccines are a case in point. Clearly the patent system has proven to be inadequate in providing a sufficient incentive. Perhaps other incentive plans can either replace or supplement existing incentives to correct this market failure. 

All health plans would receive a fixed-dollar subsidy for vaccine purchase and vaccine administration. The committee specified that the fixed-dollar subsidy be made a function of the social benefit of the vaccine for the groups for which the vaccine was mandated, but the subsidy would not necessarily equal the full social value. The subsidy would not reflect R D or on production costs. Although insurance coverage for particular vaccines... 

We have discussed the cons as well as the rationale for mandates and vouchers. The negative side effects should be limited in this context. First, the mandate-subsidy-voucher would apply only for vaccines (1) with quantifiable social benefit, (2) for those subpopulations for which such benefit is likely to accrue, and (3) for vaccines with substantial consumption externalities. The cost of vaccines to the government would probably increase, but applying the above screens, for some vaccines, total resource outlays may actually decline, given the discipline that the benefit-cost test imposes on expert groups recommending the vaccines. Second, the negative effects of... 

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