Question
Imagine that you are the governor of Tennessee and need to decide if you should support the World Cup highway and bridge construction project. The
Imagine that you are the governor of Tennessee and need to decide if you should support the "World Cup" highway and bridge construction project. The World Cup is estimated to take 5 years to complete. The project will require $100 million in construction materials per year and $50 million in labor costs per year. In addition, the construction will disrupt transportation within the city for the duration of the construction. The transportation disruption lengthens transport times for 100,000 workers by 30 hours per year. All workers are paid $30 per hour. The World Cup, when finished, will ease transportation within the city. Each of the 100,000 workers will have their transport time reduced by 50 hours per year as compared to the preconstruction transport time. The road will be safer and reduce fatalities by 5 per year and injury by 20 per year. Each life saved is valued at $10 million and each injury avoided is valued at $25,000. In addition, part of the World Cup project involves converting the space formerly taken up by an elevated highway into a large park. The State of Tennessee has determined that each worker will value the park at $50 per year. We will assume that no one else will use the park. We also assume the government has a 3% discount rate and that the workers live forever. The benefits to the World Cup begin in year 6, assuming the project begins in year 1 (i.e., the project runs for 5 years, from t=0 to t=4). Assess the costs and benefits of this public project. Is this project economically efficient (i.e., the benefits are greater than the costs.)?
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