Resources Repository
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Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2020Resource Pack: SSB Excise Tax Briefs (CHOICES)
Rising rates of obesity represent one of the greatest public health threats facing the United …
Rising rates of obesity represent one of the greatest public health threats facing the United States. Obesity has been linked to excess consumption of sugary drinks. Federal, state, and local governments have considered implementing excise taxes on sugary drinks to reduce consumption, reduce obesity, and provide a new source of government revenue. This resource pack includes a series of briefs describing analyses conducted by the Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (CHOICES), evaluating the health and economic impact…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Outcomes | Policy/Regulation | Microsimulation | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation | Quantitative Literacy -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2021Resource Pack: Valuing Health and Longevity in BCA
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of changes in health and longevity in benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students and practitioners who have a basic understanding of the benefit-cost analysis framework, as discussed in the Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis. That pack provides a general overview of the approaches that are explored in more detail here, as well as related guidance documents. This pack…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
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 | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | 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 | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Lesson/ModulePublication, Teaching Resource 2014CDC Science Ambassador Workshop 2014 Lesson Plan: Master of Disaster
This lesson plan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was curated to …
This lesson plan from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was curated to teach high school students, grades 9-10, to explore decision-making around natural disaster emergencies. The lesson includes a video, public health emergency response data, and a response plan. It explores interactive cases of cholera in Haiti after an earthquake and breaks down risk factors and different approaches to the scenario. Students make informed decisions based on this data, exploring public health…
Decision Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Injuries/Accidents | Environmental Health | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America | Latin America & Caribbean | High School | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
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.…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | 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…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | 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…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | 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…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis