COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS MODELS &
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR PUBLIC POLICIES

Although cost benefit analysis and other frameworks for rational decision-making are being applied in more and more situations, these tools play too little a role in too many decisions--partly due to the time and funds required to implement good studies, and partly due to rigid adherence to fixed ideas, political power, and irrational emotions. In addition, when these frameworks are applied the end-products generally omit significant factors or provide questionable estimates--rendering them to the dustbin of history, unless they happen to support positions of powerful proponents.

Researchers have produced thousands of useful studies and dozens of computer models. Yet too often they are not utilized by decision makers.

We have been working with others to use information technology to collect as much relevant information as is feasible, to analyze it rationally, to reconcile differences, and to disseminate it cost effectively in a manner easily understood by as many people as possible.

We have presented below links to software which can begin to address these problems, and some articles discussing software we are developing. We will soon provide samples of our own software.

Software Model and Data Links

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS !

Model for Evaluation the Regional and Global Effects of GHG Reduction Policies MERGE
RICE and DICE Models of Economics of Climate Change Readings on Environment
Tellus Institute Software
US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources Cost-Effectiveness Incremental Costs Analysis
SMARTe - Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools
EPA : National Center for Environmental Economics NCEE : Publication Links : By Subject
The ExternE Externalities of Energy A Project of the European Commission
RETScreen Clean Energy Project International Software & Data .
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency FAIR - Download info
COMMEND: Community for Energy Environment and Development
WEAP: Water Evaluation And Planning System
MARKAL – MACRO, Featured Projects, Energy Sciences and Technology Department
Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) Software
CITYgreen Software Evaluation Example
Pacific Southwest Research Station STRATUM - Street Tree Analysis and Management Tool
Vancouver Street Tree Master Plan - Public Survey - Costs and Benefits of Trees
ecoSmart Software
EnergyPlus - U.S. Department of Energy - Building Technologies Program

ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

i-Tree - Linking Benefits Costs and Management of Urban Trees

ECONOMICS - Cost-Benefit

Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) Software
Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance Software Cost Benefit
US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources Cost-Effectiveness Incremental Costs Analysis
SMARTe - Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools
Resources for the Future - Research Topic - Cost-Benefit Analysis
Landfilldesign.com - Research, Design, Interact, and Select Material for Landfills and Landfill Applications
T.R.E.E.S. Project -- Cost-Benefit Analysis
Resources For the Future - Reducing Emissions from the Electricity Sector - The Costs and Benefits in the Empire State and Nationwide - RFF-DP-05-23.pdf (application/pdf Object)

LAND USE, REAL ESTATE, PLANNING, GIS, BROWNFIELDS, SPRAWL

UrbanSim
UNIT 59 - SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) Software.
Maspace Info Page
T.R.E.E.S. Project -- Cost-Benefit Analysis
What if?, a GIS-based planning & support system
Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS) .
ESRI - GIS Software
Free GIS mapping program software and resources .
Spatial Decision Support Systems
Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable | Decision Support (Software) Tools (DST)
MIT Urban Upgrading - Issues and Tools
Center for Rural Studies - CRS - Community Buildout Analysis Download
EPA Brownfields Tools
Triad Resource Center. Triad: A smarter solution to site cleanup
The Brownfields Center
ECRISESOnlineDatabase.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Smart Growth America :
EPA Watershed Academy: Growth and Water Resources
SMARTe - Usage Agreement
Smart Growth Assessment Tool

Real Estate Valuation

RealQuest.com ® - main
Argus Real Estate Valuation Software Realm Argus Software
Stewart.com: section
Case Schiller Weiss CSW
real-info.com
First American Real Estate Solutions :: Products :: Basis100
Business Valuation Resources And More . . .
Marshall & Swift: The Building Cost People
First American Real Estate Solutions :: Industry :: Appraisal

GREEN BUILDINGS

Whole Building Design Guide - WBDG: Building for Enviromental and Economic Sustainability (BEES)
U.S. Department of Energy - DOE Building Technologies Program: Select Cost Analysis Method
U.S. Department of Energy - Rebuild America - Partnership Formation - Life Cycle Cost Calculator
U.S. Department of Energy - Federal Energy Management Program: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
Whole Building Design Guide WBDG: Tools
ToolBase Services - The Home Building Industry's Technical Information Resource
Costing Green a Comprehensive Database and Building Methodology Cost_of_Green_Full.pdf (application/pdf Object)
The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings California Sustable Building Task Force via the U.S. Green Building Council - CA_report_GBbenefits.pdf (application/pdf Object)
U.S. Energy State Program
Whole Building Design Guide WBDG/CCB: GSA LEED® Cost Study
BuildingGreen.com
U.S. Department of Energy - Contrasting The Capabilities of Building Energy Performance Simulation Programs_v1.0.pdf
Ecologic3
National Institute of Standards & Technology - NIST - Building & Fire Research Laboratory - Building & Economic Analysis Software
BIDS - Building Intelligent Decision System
U.S. Department of Energy: Building Technologies Program: Buildings Database
Environmental Design and Construction - EDC - Software and Web-based Tools
Environmental Design and Construction - Green Edge Leed Version 10
Report on the Environmental Benefits and Costs of Green Roof Technology for the City of Toronto fullreport103105.pdf: EnergyPlus - U.S. Department of Energy - Building Technologies Program: EnergyPlus

ECONOMICS - Impact I/O

Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Economic Accounts RIMS II Regional Input Output Multipliers
Regional Economic Models, Inc.
Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc.
Earth Impact Effects Program
Economic Modeling Specialists Inc

ENVIRONMENTAL

Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable | Decision Support (Software) Tools (DST)
Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA) Software
Tellus Institute Software
University of Iowa CGRER Environmental Computer Models NetSurfing: Environmental Information/Topics
What if?, a GIS-based planning & support system
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources Cost-Effectiveness Incremental Costs Analysis
U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics: Software
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Ecological Risk Analysis: Guidance, Tools, and Applications
U.S. EPA Software for Environmental Awareness
United Nations Assessment of contributions to climate change
Global Trade Analysis Project GTAP
Regional Economic Center: GREENWARE: Low Cost Environmental Management Software
OSHA eTools and Electronic Products for Compliance Assistance

STATISTICAL PROGRAMS -- FREE

GAMS Home Page
The G Regression Program
StatLib :: Data, Software and News from the Statistics Community
Software for Agent-Based Computational Economics and CAS (Tesfatsion)

ENERGY

RETScreen Clean Energy Project International Software & Data
Energy Plus U.S. Department of Energy - Building Technologies Program
COMMEND: Community for Energy Environment and Economic Development
MARKAL – MACRO, Featured Projects, Energy Sciences and Technology Department

ECONOMICS - Macroeconomics

FAIR Model Macroeconometrics
Regional Economic Models, Inc.

GENERAL

RiskWorld Software: computer programs for risk assessment and risk management

DATA

DATA - Environmental Economics

Association of Environmental and Resource Economists - AERE - Research
Environmental Valuation Reference Inventory - EVRI
Sportfishing Values Database
University of California at Davis - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
World Bank Environmental Economics & Indicators
NOAA - Coastal and Ocean Resource Economics: List of Core Publications, Datasets, and Links
NOAA - Coastal and Ocean Resource Economics: Bibliographies/Benefits Transfer
New South Wales Environment Protection Authority Envalue Study Database
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers96r24.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Coastal Environmental Extension Network Internet Resource Guide
U.S. EPA : National Center for Environmental Economics NCEE : Publications : EPA Datasets
Benefits Transfer and Valuation Databases: Are We Headed in the Right Direction EPA National Center for Environmental Economics and Environment Canade Workshop

DATA Environmental !

Tick Data Futures Forex Stock Index
U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government
U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Information Administration - Energy Emissions Data & Environmental Analysis of Energy Data
U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Information Administration (EIA) - Annual Energy Outlook (Early Release)
U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Data
World Resources Institute - Publications and multimedia: Datasets
Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University - The Word Data Center WDC-A Database for Human Interactions in the Environment .
U.S. EPA Information Sources: Databases and Software
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC)
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA - National Geophysical Data Center
World Bank New Ideas in Pollution Regulation NIPR: IPPS Industrial Pollution Modeling & Data
U.S. EPA - Envirofacts
Environmentally Related Taxes database ...
Statistical Review of World Energy 2005 - BP Global - Reports and publications .
Environmental Working Group - EWG - Farm Subsidy Database
FADINAP Pesticide and Environment Database
U.S. EPA Cost of Illness Handbook .
NEDI (National Environmental Data Index)
Association of Environmental and Resource Economists

U.S. EPA: Welcome to ECOTOX

DATA - US National

Inter University Consortium for Political and Social Research ICPSR Front Page
Free Economic Data | Economic, Financial, and Demographic Data .

Regional

New York Metro

New York State Traffic Counts.

DATA - International

EconStats : Economic Data
Penn World Table, Center for International Comparisons, University of Pennsylvania
EUROPA - Eurostat
International Monetary Fund - IMF - International Financial Statistics - IFS .
Statistics Directorate:Department
Organization of American States - SICE - Foreign Trade Information System
World Bank Data & Research
World Bank Institute - Governance Indicators
National Bureau of Economic Research - NBER Macrohistory Database
World Bank Development Data & Statistics
Growth data sets
Harvard University - Center for International Development at Harvard University (CID) Data
Global Social Change Research Project
World Tables - Dataset Description Guide
Columbia University - Center for Earth Science Information Network - Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network - -A for Human Interactions in Environment
Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Economic Growth Data
United Nations Development Program - Human Development Report - HDR - Statistics
Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung: Startseite
United Nations Databases and CD-ROMS for UN Information
Yale University - Numeric Data for UN Information
World Bank - Macroeconomics - Datasets
United Nations Cyber School Bus Country at a Glance - Overview
United Nations Statistics Division
United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and Operation of Justice Systems WCTS
Yale University Library - Social Science Data Archive
University of California San Diego - Social Science Data on the Internet
Council of European Social Science Data Archives CESSDA
U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Foreign Labor Statistics
Yale University Library: Database & Article Searching
World Health Organization - WHO - Research tools
World Database of Happiness
Alta Plana: International Economics Gateway
Statistical Data Locators [Nanyang Technological University Library]
B R E A D Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development :: Working Papers
William Davidson Institute
BvD - EIU CountryData
Luxembourg Income Study
NationMaster.com - Where Stats Come Alive!
OANDA, The Currency Site: Foreign Exchange Services and Trading
Groningen Growth and Development Center GGDC Data Series
Globalmetrix.com
BP Global - Reports and publications - Statistical Review of World Energy 2005
Economics and Statistics - ADB.org
Bank for International Settlements - BIS Statistics
EcoWin - Your Economic Window .
World Bank - Social Indicators of Development via CIESIN - Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center

SocioPolitical

SocioSite Social Science Information at University of Amsterdam

DATA - Financial

Economic History Services - What Was the Exchange Rate Then ?

The Environmental Valuation & Cost Benefit Website Home

PAPER	HTML	Wordperfect Download	ASCII Text Version
"Shooting in the Dark-How Computer Software Can Improve The Quality of Government Policies" The Engineering Economist (Spring, 1995)
"Tools for Resolving Community Opposition to Public Projects" Real Estate Review (Winter, 1995)
Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy Analysis
A Meta Analysis of Influences Upon Property Values