This thesis took the policy-analysis framework of Marchau and Walker (2005)as a starting point for assessment and valuation of road and railroad noise impacts and its consequences for noise policy. In the case of traffic noise, there are some possible gaps in the framework. They are identified in the different elements of the framework, mostly in the domain of valuating the outcomes and of policy making. The thesis has adressed some of those possible gaps, one in the traffice system itself, the self-selection issue, one concerned with outcomes of interest, the issue of the assessment of noise levels, one concerned with valuation, i.e. application of methodologies for monetising noise impacts. Each of these issues was adressed in an academic paper, that focused on a specific research question. A fourth academic paper applied monetising methods for noise impacts using the case of implementation of (possible) noise abatement measures in the Netherlands. Focus of this paper was on methodological weaknesses and the implications of this case for noise policy in the Netherlands. (Author/publisher)
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