Seeing the Whole Picture: Bringing Social and Environmental Impacts into Cost–Benefit Analysis

Traditional Cost-Benefit Analysis can miss the real story when it ignores pollution, resource depletion, inequality, and job creation—especially in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. This piece unpacks how to recognize and monetize social and environmental externalities, integrate climate adaptation and employment impacts, and bring communities, youth, and women into the analysis. The result is a more honest, sustainability-focused CBA that guides policies and investments toward long-term social welfare and environmental resilience.