Aviation security: Costing, pricing, finance and performance

This article provides an overview of economic issues pertaining to the costing, pricing, financing and performance of aviation security and an introduction to eight articles contributing to this special issue. Topics include benefit-cost analysis, production and input relationships, information flows, human factors and performance measurement, the role of technology, and risk-based security. We highlight resource allocation and measurement problems that are endemic to aviation security, and analyze the growing costs of aviation security over the last 15 years. We also provide data and analysis on financing that demonstrates significant differences in national approaches to the governance of aviation security and the economic consequences of such decisions.