evaluative criteria Commonly used in policy Analysis
Efficiency. Typically the efficiency criterion is the most important evaluative consideration in cost effectivveness and cost benefit studies. I use efficiency more or less as the term is used in economics, for maximizing the aggregate of individuals welfare as welfare would be construed by the individuals themselves in economic Maximize the sum of individuals untilities or Maximize net benefits.
Note that although efficiency has an antiseptic technocratic and elitist ring to it the insistence here that utility is to be assessed according to individuals citizen construction of their own welfare is thoroughly democratic. in deed siding with efficiency on average across most policy issues and policy decisions is a way to produce more umanistic policy results too The reason is not that efficiency is so very humane but that policy decision failingto consider efficiency very often fail to take account of the little guy at all. The little guy may be little but in a proper efficincy anlysis he at least show up to be to change the work flow in the city planning but not personal assignment.