Resources Repository
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Resource PortalWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2024National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, founded in 1863, has a mission to provide …
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, founded in 1863, has a mission to provide nonpartisan, objective guidance for decision makers on policy challenges in the context of science, engineering, and medicine. NAS reports and convening activities have a wide range of impacts on policy and practice. They guide the development of federal laws and regulations, improve the effectiveness of government programs, shape the direction of research fields, and inform public knowledge and dialogue about…
Evidence Synthesis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Risk Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Injuries/Accidents | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Global Governance | Climate/Environment | Energy/Engineering | Education/Labor | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Science/Technology | Global | North America | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Scientific Evidence of Factual Causation
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic …
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic tort” or environmental disease context: epidemiology, toxicology, and genetics. These scientific disciplines are used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory proceedings in which causation or risk is an issue. The module is appropriate for non-scientist law students as well as others interested in learning the science of toxic tort causation, including practicing attorneys, judges, and public policy and public health…
Evidence Synthesis | Risk Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Food/Agriculture | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Drug-Induced Birth Defects
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth …
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth defects, the module aims to provide students with a general understanding of the following: (1) human risk factor causation as determined by epidemiologic methods; (2) the limits of non-human toxicological evidence to the assessment of causality in humans; (3) the importance of pharmacovigilance for all medications; (4) special difficulties in identifying causes of human birth defects; (5) the importance of…
Evidence Synthesis | Health Outcomes | Risk Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2015White Paper: Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote …
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote understanding of the impacts after a policy is implemented. Serving as a brief primer, the authors propose that analysis can be useful for identifying needed reforms as well as in improving the conduct of future prospective analyses. The major challenges relate to estimating what would have occurred in the absence of the policy and separating the effects of the policy…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
ArticlePublication 2013Using Occupational Injury Data to Estimate VSL
This article discusses the use of occupational fatality rate data to estimate the additional pay …
This article discusses the use of occupational fatality rate data to estimate the additional pay workers receive for bearing greater risks, while controlling for other aspects of the job and characteristics of the worker. This tradeoff rate is typically referenced as the value of a statistical life (VSL). The extensive U.S. labor market literature generating VSL estimates has utilized several fatality rate measures which are typically matched to employment information on workers from large datasets.…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2013Valuing Health Risk Reductions
In this article, the authors discuss how to value risk reductions in the context of …
In this article, the authors discuss how to value risk reductions in the context of benefit-cost analysis. Many public policies and private actions affect the risk of injury, illness, or death, yet changes in these risks are not easily valued using market prices. The authors begin with a pragmatic focus, describing the analytic framework and the approaches currently used for valuation, including estimates of willingness to pay (WTP), cost of illness (COI), and monetized quality-adjusted…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
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…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | 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…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | 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…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis