SocioKostenNutzenAnalyse

SocioKostenNut, sometimes abbreviated SKN, is a theoretical framework for evaluating policy options by measuring net social welfare. It extends traditional cost-benefit analysis by explicitly incorporating social costs and social benefits that accrue to society as a whole, including non-market externalities and distributional considerations.

Core concepts: social costs include direct financial costs, opportunity costs, environmental damages, and macroeconomic impacts; social benefits include health improvements, educational outcomes, productivity, security, and cultural or recreational value. The framework also emphasizes distributional effects, allowing for weighting of outcomes across different groups or equity considerations.

Methodology: SKN constructs a social welfare evaluation by aggregating monetized values plus non-monetized goods through stated preferences, revealed preferences, or multi-criteria decision analysis. It uses a social discount rate and horizon to compare present vs future impacts; it may apply distributional weights to reflect equity objectives. It can be implemented as an extension of cost-benefit analysis or as a stand-alone framework.

Applications and examples: used by policymakers for climate policy, urban development, health and education programs, and infrastructure investments. It can incorporate uncertainty through scenario analysis and sensitivity tests.

Criticism and limitations: challenges in valuing non-market goods, ethical concerns about weighting, potential bias, data demands, and the risk of overshadowing qualitative outcomes. Proponents argue SKN offers a clearer view of social welfare than traditional analyses, but consensus on methodology remains limited.