Introduction

This chapter looks at the changes in costs, benefits and nutrient flows under the three scenarios, as formulated in Chapter 6. The goals of this chapter are (a) to present the economic indicators, calculate these under each scenario and perform a financial cost–benefit analysis (CBA), and (b) to calculate the changes in the run-off of nutrient flows under each scenario. The economic cost and benefit indicators will be entered, along with the ecological and spatial equity indicators (Ch. 9), into the scenario evaluation (Ch. 10). Additional economic indicators, to be calculated, are the changes in net present value (NPV) and employment, and the effects of changes in the spatial and economic structure on nutrient flows. The last leads to the calculation of environmental indicators for run-off and surplus of nitrogen and phosphate, which serve as inputs to the ecosystem model discussed in Chapter 7.

There are several types of CBA. In this chapter, financial CBA indicators are generated, which means that only financial transactions are considered. Another approach is economic CBA, which also includes (social) costs and benefits for non-market goods and services, such as those related to changes in nature (Zerbe and Dively, 1994). As no prices are available for these non-market valuations, values must be estimated.