Decision analysis as a replacement for cost/benefit analysis

Decision analysis has recently been employed to analyse public policy issues, and in contexts where cost/benefit analysis might equally well have been applied. In this paper we examine whether these two techniques are in competition, and if so, which is most fitted for public policy analysis. The intellectual origins of the two techniques are outlined, and different modes of interpretation are identified. The two techniques are compared on several different issues, including their handling of uncertainty, equity and conflicting objectives. It is argued that as an aid to decision-making the approach of decision analysis has advantages over cost/benefit analysis.