EU Funded Projects: from Financial to Economic Analysis

Investment projects represent the basis of economic and social development of our country. The investment is a cost that will most influence the future, but it is necessary that this influence should be not only positive, but also should exceed the investment efforts. There could be different sources of financing the investment, but lately, European grants are more and more accessed by various economic agents or institutions. To obtain European financing, the project must fulfill certain conditions and must follow certain economic, social and environmental indicators. Also, for some financing lines, is required the economic analysis preparation, in order to demonstrate that the project benefits to society are important and cover the investments efforts. Thus, economic analysis studies the project influence on macro-economic or regional level, and evaluates its contribution to the welfare of the region or local community. The present paper aims to analyze the most important and available theoretical resources and to provide practical examples for carrying out the economic analysis. In conclusion, economic analysis is an useful tool for each project evaluation, but the biggest barriers to its development are the lack of valid data and the reduced Romanian experience. Under these conditions, input data can be incorrectly estimated, resulting illusory and subjective project data. For a proper projects selection based on indicators of economic assessment, it must be developed a national, complete and complex guide.performance Cost-benefit analysis, European funds, externalities, investments, shadow prices.

The Benefits of Improved Environmental Accounting: An Economic Framework to Identify Priorities

Improved environmental accounting is increasingly seen by corporate managers and environmental advocates alike as a necessary complement to improved environmental decision-making within the private sector. This paper develops an economic approach to the evaluation of environmental accounting's benefits and derives the value, and determinants, of improved accounting information in several production and capital budgeting contexts. Using concepts from managerial economics, finance, and organizational theory, the analysis identifies the types of environmental accounting improvement that are most likely to yield significant financial and environmental benefits.

Complexity stage model of the medical device development based on economic evaluation-MedDee

The development of a new product is essential for the progress and success of any company. The medical device market is very specific, which is challenging. Therefore, this paper assesses an economic model for medical device evaluation using the economic, health, technology regulatory, and present market knowledge to enable the cost-time conception for any applicant. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive stage model of the medical device development to subsequently describe the financial expenditure of the entire development process. The identification of critical steps was based on the literature review, and analysis, and a comparison of the available medical device development stages and directives. Furthermore, a preliminary assessment of the medical device development steps and procedures on the basis of the interviews was performed. Six interviews were conducted with an average duration of one hour, focusing on areas: relevance and level of detail of the medical device development stages, involvement of economic methods, and applicability of the proposed model. Subsequently, the improvement and modification of the medical device investment process, based on respondents' responses, were conducted. The authors have proposed the complexity model MedDee-Medical Devices Development by Economic Evaluation. This model is comprised of six phases: initiation, concept, design, production, final verification, and market disposition in which the economic methods are incorporated.Web of Science125art. no. 175

A Survey on Economic-driven Evaluations of Information Technology

The economic-driven evaluation of information technology (IT) has become an important instrument in the management of IT projects. Numerous approaches have been developed to quantify the costs of an IT investment and its assumed profit, to evaluate its impact on business process performance, and to analyze the role of IT regarding the achievement of enterprise objectives. This paper discusses approaches for evaluating IT from an economic-driven perspective. Our comparison is based on a framework distinguishing between classification criteria and evaluation criteria. The former allow for the categorization of evaluation approaches based on their similarities and differences. The latter, by contrast, represent attributes that allow to evaluate the discussed approaches. Finally, we give an example of a typical economic-driven IT evaluation

The Development of a Common Investment Appraisal for Urban Transport Projects.

In December 1990 we were invited by Birmingham City Council and Centro to submit a proposal for an introductory study of the development of a common investment appraisal for urban transport projects. Many of the issues had arisen during the Birmingham Integrated Transport Study (BITS) in which we were involved, and in the subsequent assessment of light rail schemes of which we have considerable experience. In subsequent discussion, the objectives were identified as being:- (i) to identify, briefly, the weaknesses with existing appraisal techniques; (ii) to develop proposals for common methods for the social cost-benefit appraisal of both urban road and rail schemes which overcome these weaknesses; (iii) to develop complementary and consistent proposals for common methods of financial appraisal of such projects; (iv) to develop proposals for variants of the methods in (ii) and (iii) which are appropriate to schemes of differing complexity and cost; (v) to consider briefly methods of treating externalities, and performance against other public sector goals, which are consistent with those developed under (ii) to (iv) above; (vi) to recommend work to be done in the second phase of the study (beyond March 1991) on the provision of input to such evaluation methods from strategic and mode-specific models, and on the testing of the proposed evaluation methods. Such issues are particularly topical at present, and we have been able to draw, in our study, on experience of:- (i) evaluation methods developed for BITS and subsequent integrated transport studies (MVA) (ii) evaluation of individual light rail and heavy rail investment projects (ITS,MVA); (iii) the recommendations of AMA in "Changing Gear" (iv) advice to IPPR on appraisal methodology (ITS); (v) submissions to the House of Commons enquiry into "Roads for the Future" (ITS); (vi) advice to the National Audit Office (ITS) (vii) involvement in the SACTRA study of urban road appraisal (MVA, ITS

Overview of project appraisal

This paper is the outcome of Australian, state and territory governments agreeing to consult to develop a more sophisticated and consistent framework to assess and evaluate major infrastructure projects. Introduction A project appraisal process helps a government make good choices in terms of its goals. It starts with a clear understanding of the role of the project in addressing the key problems preventing achievement of goals specified in a broader integrated transport and land use plan. Projects should ideally be targeted at addressing the most important problems identified in broader transport plans. Good project appraisal also requires the full exploration of reform and investment options to address the key problems to ensure that the project solution provides the best return for society’s scarce resources. Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) is the primary appraisal tool at the options assessment and project prioritisation stages of the appraisal process It is a rigorous, transparent, quantitative method that measures the degree to which individual projects generate net benefits (benefits minus costs) across Australia, and allows comparison and ranking of options and projects. CBA sits within a broader planning and appraisal framework designed to ensure that projects: Flow from good strategic-level planning and assessment Are closely aligned with high-level national, state and territory goals Are aimed at addressing priority problems that are preventing goals from being achieved, and Adopt the best solution, based on a sound assessment of a wide range of potential options for solving the identified problems. The best practice transport planning and appraisal framework in Australia is defined jointly by the National guidelines for transport system management in Australia (NGTSM 2006) and Infrastructure Australia’s Better infrastructure decision-making (IA 2013a). The NGTSM is currently being updated and revised to: Align with Infrastructure Australia’s framework and guidelines Incorporate the complementary Austroads Guide to Project Evaluation and Guide to Road Transport Planning Provide guidance on important recent developments in tools and techniques that have significant implications for future approaches to transport planning and project appraisal. These include: wider economic benefits (WEBs), productivity metrics, real options analysis, use of computable general equilibrium models, and CBA of active travel, climate change adaptation, maintenance and non-infrastructure initiatives. Non-infrastructure initiatives covers regulatory changes, intelligent transport system projects, and travel behaviour change programs, and be published as website. The NGTSM covers all land transport modes. It sets out a comprehensive framework for integrated transport and land use planning and analytical approaches to transport project appraisal (mostly CBA). The NGTSM update will build on the non-CBA aspects of transport appraisal contained in the current guidelines, particularly the upfront integrated transport and land use aspects of the framework. This paper outlines first the broader appraisal process in which CBA sits, and second CBA itself with the recent developments of wider economic benefits and productivity metrics. &nbsp

An Overview of Economic Approaches to Information Security Management

The increasing concerns of clients, particularly in online commerce, plus the impact of legislations on information security have compelled companies to put more resources in information security. As a result, senior managers in many organizations are now expressing a much greater interest in information security. However, the largest body of research related to preventing breaches is technical, focusing on such issues as encryption and access control. In contrast, research related to the economic aspects of information security is small but rapidly growing. The goal of this technical note is twofold: i) to provide the reader with an structured overview of the economic approaches to information security and ii) to identify potential research directions