KALDOR-HICKS EFFICIENCY: A type of efficiency that results if the monetary value of society's resources are maximized. This is achieved if the marginal willingness to pay by those who benefit from an action is equal to the marginal willingness to accept of those harmed. If this condition is not achieved, then a Kaldor-Hicks improvement is possible. Kaldor-Hicks efficiency, named after Nicholas Kaldor and John Hicks, is the theoretical basis of benefit-cost analysis, a technique commonly used to evaluate the desirability of producing public goods (such as parks, highways, or reservoirs). This is one of two noted efficiency criteria used in economics. The other is Pareto efficiency. See also | efficiency | willingness to pay | willingness to accept | benefit-cost analysis | Kaldor-Hicks improvement | Pareto efficiency | welfare economics | externality | market failure |
