By Yu Min & Li Zuojun, Research Team on “The Evaluation Mechanism of Environmental Policies: International Experience and Implications”, Research Institute of Resources and Environment Policies, DRC

Research Report, No. 124, 2020 (Total 5868) 2020-5-26

Abstract: In the past half-century, policy cost-effectiveness evaluation has become the cornerstone for correct policy-making, lawful administration and efficient enforcement in developed countries, thus forming an integral part of a nation’s modern governance system and capacities. Currently, over sixty percent OECD countries have established the mechanism for policy cost-effectiveness evaluation. Their pre-implementation evaluation of policy cost-effectiveness is applied more than post-implementation evaluation, and participation by the public has become important content in evaluation. The existing problems with their cost-effectiveness evaluation mechanism includes low-rate application, weak influence of evaluation results on policy-making, and poor applicability in developing countries, mainly because cost-effectiveness is yet able to meet diverse policy-making needs, while the complexity and uncertainty with evaluation has made policy-makers unable to fully understand and apply the evaluation results. These problems will not produce much negative effects on the global popularization and application of the policy cost-effectiveness evaluation mechanism. Rather, they will enable breakthroughs to be made in meeting diverse policy-making needs, simplifying methods and improving procedures for the policy cost-effectiveness evaluation mechanism.

Keywords: policy, cost-effectiveness evaluation, international practice, problems, trends