A cost/benefit analysis (also spelled cost-benefit analysis) is
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[a]n analytic technique that compares the costs and benefits of investments, programs, or policy actions in order to determine which alternative or alternatives maximize net benefits (economic efficiency). Cost-benefit analysis attempts to consider all costs and benefits to whomever they accrue, regardless of whether they are reflected in market transactions.[1]
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[d]etermination of the economic feasibility of developing a system on the basis of a comparison of the projected costs of a proposed system and the expected benefits from its operation.[2]