Module manager: Professor Thijs Dekker
Email: T.Dekker@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as an Elective
Evaluating the welfare implications of projects and public policies is not an easy task. The Green Book and the Transport Appraisal Guidance provide substantial guidance for practitioners. To successfully and correctly apply these guidelines, a thorough understanding of the underlying concepts of welfare economics is required. The Welfare Economics and Cost-Benefit Analysis module provides the essential building blocks and methodologies underlying such exercises.
Welfare Economics and Cost-Benefit Analysis aims for students to understand, interpret and contextualise the framework of welfare economics that underlies project and policy appraisal methods, such as cost benefit analysis, used in many countries of the world. It provides the required theoretical background, introduces and contrasts methods for implementation, and illustrates its applications.
On successful completion of the module students can demonstrate the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject: 1. Define and describe the key classical welfare economic concepts underlying cost-benefit analysis. 2. Compare and contrast classical welfare economic concepts based on their strengths and limitations. 3. Explain, interpret and contextualise how welfare economic concepts can be put into to practice using relevant methodologies. 4. Understand and illustrate the restrictions and limitations of the welfare economic concepts when put into practice 5. Recognise how welfare economics, especially through cost-benefit analysis, informs policy makers in the UK and beyond.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 2 | 22 |
| Private study hours | 128 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 22 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
Through performance in coursework, and informal interaction in class.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Coursework | 33 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 33 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated.
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) (S2) | 2.0 Hrs 0 Mins | 67 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 67 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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