Resources Repository
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Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and practice of benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students as well as practitioners and those interested in teaching benefit-cost analysis. Benefit-cost analysis (also referred to as cost-benefit analysis) is a well-established and widely-used form of economic evaluation. It is designed to inform policy and other decisions by providing evidence on the consequences of alternative interventions. In benefit-cost analysis, all…
Preferences/Values | Government/Law | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
BookPublication 2018Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life …
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life (VSL) approach for valuing changes in mortality risks and argues that its more widespread use would create a safer and more equitable society. The author estimates these values based on how much more money workers would demand to take on more hazardous jobs; his current estimate is $10 million. The book addresses numerous topics such as whether older people’s lives…
Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2017Valuing Non-Fatal Risks: Monetary and Health-Utility Measures
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent …
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent with both the preferences of affected individuals and social preferences for distribution of health risks in the population. Two classes of metrics are widely used: monetary measures (e.g., willingness to pay) and health-utility measures (e.g., quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)). Health-utility measures impose more structure than monetary measures, with the result that individuals’ preferences often appear inconsistent…
Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2017Translating Science Into Policy: The Role of Decision Science
This module introduces the basic techniques of “decision science” that are used in policy making. …
This module introduces the basic techniques of “decision science” that are used in policy making. The materials are mainly prescriptive, focusing on how to make good decisions, but also include examples of the systematic ways that people make poor decisions. The module: (1) surveys the meanings of utility; (2) examines decision making in conditions where risk is not an issue; (3) examines decision making in conditions where risk is an issue because the likelihood of…
Preferences/Values | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Decision Psychology | Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2017Resource Pack: U.S. Opioid Epidemic
Opioid misuse and addiction in the United States is an ongoing and rapidly evolving public …
Opioid misuse and addiction in the United States is an ongoing and rapidly evolving public health crisis, requiring an urgent coordinated response and innovative scientific solutions. This resource pack was curated for educators and students interested in how decision analytic methods and tools can be applied to the problem of opioid addiction.
Preferences/Values | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Decision Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mental Health | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Forensic Pattern Recognition
This module uses latent print (fingerprint) identification as a case study of the broader category …
This module uses latent print (fingerprint) identification as a case study of the broader category of forensic pattern recognition evidence. The case of forensic pattern recognition evidence is meant, in turn, to be a case study of the broader issue of the interaction between science and law and policy. The case of fingerprinting identification poses challenging questions for legal professionals and policy-makers. Although fingerprint identification is one of the most widely used and widely trusted…
Decision Theory | Government/Law | Policy/Regulation | Probability/Bayes | Decision Analysis | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2012Expert Elicitation of VSL
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which …
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which typically dominates the quantified benefits of air pollution regulations. Formal expert elicitation methods are one means of characterizing associated uncertainties. The authors undertake a pilot study that elicits quantitative probabilistic judgments of uncertainties in value per statistical life (VSL) estimates for use in an air pollution context. The two-stage elicitation addresses uncertainties in both a base case VSL for a…
Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ReportPublication 2012Mortality Risks in Environment, Health and Transport
This report presents a major meta-analysis of value of a statistical life (VSL) estimates derived …
This report presents a major meta-analysis of value of a statistical life (VSL) estimates derived from surveys around the world. The analysis seeks to explain the differences in the estimates, for example across countries. Differences in incomes and the magnitude of the risk reduction were found to be the factors having the strongest impact, but numerous other policy-relevant factors are also important. The report also presents advice on how VSL estimates can be best used…
Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2011Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions: Progress and Challenges
This article focuses on the value of mortality risk reduction, an important component of the …
This article focuses on the value of mortality risk reduction, an important component of the benefits estimates for environmental policies. In recent years, the number, scope, and quality of valuation studies have increased dramatically. Revealed-preference studies of wage compensation for occupational risks, on which analysts have primarily relied, have benefited from improved data and statistical methods. Stated-preference research has improved methodologically and expanded dramatically. In these studies, researchers have explored many issues concerning the validity…
Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Policy/Regulation | Benefit-Cost Analysis | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis