Fixed
costs – production costs that are not related to the level of
production; also referred
to as overhead costs.
Geographical
Information System (GIS) – a computer mapping system that links
databases of geographically-based information to maps that display the information. For more information, see www.esri.com.
Market
failure – the inability of markets to reflect the full social costs or
benefits of a
good, service, or state of the world. Therefore,
markets will not result in the
most efficient or beneficial allocation of resources.
Net
economic benefit – the net economic benefit is the total economic benefit received from
a change in the state of a good or service, measured by the sum of consumer
surplus plus producer surplus, less any costs associated with the change.
Net
Present value – the current value of net benefits (benefits minus costs) that occur
over time. A discount rate is used to reduce future
benefits and costs to
their present time equivalent.