Quantifying the priceless
The benefits of decisions are sometimes hard to nail down and quantify, while the costs are almost always reducible to hard cash. That can lead to uncomfortable comparisons, but can they really be avoided?
Commotion in the UK last week. In July 2022, the Welsh approved a proposal by the devolved government to reduce the speed limit on about 7,700 km of roads from 30mph (48 km/h) to 20mph. Back then, this event went pretty much unnoticed by the national media, but as the implementation date of 17 September 2023 approached, the voices opposing the measure grew much louder. It does have significant consequences: just over one third of all the Welsh roads are affected. Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford argued that it will save lives and costs for the National Health Service (NHS) — he even put a number to it (10 lives per year). Opponents — some undoubtedly triggered by a perceived assault on their freedoms through a nanny state intervention — point at the direct and indirect costs to the taxpayer and to drivers, and even at the negative environmental impact of the measure (motor vehicles are less efficient at 20mph).
