Articles | Volume 21, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2967-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-2967-2017
Research article
 | 
19 Jun 2017
Research article |  | 19 Jun 2017

Moving beyond the cost–loss ratio: economic assessment of streamflow forecasts for a risk-averse decision maker

Simon Matte, Marie-Amélie Boucher, Vincent Boucher, and Thomas-Charles Fortier Filion

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Short summary
In this study we set the basis of an alternative framework to replace the popular cost-loss ratio for the economic assessment of flood forecasting systems. The C-L ratio implicitly considers the decision maker to be risk-neutral, whereas it is rarely the case in real-life emergency situations. Instead of the cost-loss ratio, we propose using a utility function. We show that the decision-maker’s level of risk aversion is a crucial factor in the assessment of the economic value of flood forecasts.