Resources Repository
-
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/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 | Health/Medicine | Decision Psychology | Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Online LearningVideo, Teaching Resource 2023Khan Videos: Conditional Probability
These three videos, produced by Khan Academy, focus on conditional probability. Conditional probability with Bayes' …
These three videos, produced by Khan Academy, focus on conditional probability. Conditional probability with Bayes' Theorem (~5 min). Created by Brit Cruise, this video presents conditional probability visually using trees. Conditional probability and independence (~4 min). This video uses conditional probability to see if events are independent or not. Conditional probability tree diagram (~11 min). This video uses a tree diagram to work out the following conditional probability question: If someone fails a drug test, what is the…
Probability/Bayes | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | High School | College | Graduate | Quantitative Literacy -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2016Cost per DALY Thresholds and Health Opportunity Costs
This policy brief aims to explain the cost per DALY threshold and the concepts of …
This policy brief aims to explain the cost per DALY threshold and the concepts of health opportunity costs, especially aimed at low and middle-income countries. The authors state that an assessment of health opportunity costs is required if the best use is to be made of health and healthcare resources. This requires an assessment of whether the improvement in health outcomes they offer exceeds the improvement in health that would have been possible if the…
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Systems | Economics/Finance | Global | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Shale Gas Development
This module has been developed around the topic of the extraction of natural gas from …
This module has been developed around the topic of the extraction of natural gas from shale. This practice, commonly referred to as fracking, involves several practices that have complex and uncertain consequences. In the module, three scientific concepts are explored in order to elucidate how science is applied toward addressing real-world problems. The scientific concepts are: (1) correlation is not the same as causation, (2) hazard is not the same as risk, and (3) risk…
Probability/Bayes | Risk Analysis | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Climate/Environment | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership -
Lesson/ModuleMultimedia, Teaching Resource 2015Would You Opt for a Life with No Pain?
Imagine if you could plug your brain into a machine that would bring you ultimate …
Imagine if you could plug your brain into a machine that would bring you ultimate pleasure for the rest of your life. The only catch? You have to permanently leave reality behind. Hayley Levitt and Bethany Rickwald explore Robert Nozick’s thought experiment that he called the Experience Machine. This TED-Ed lesson was developed by Hayley Levitt and Bethany Rickwald with animation by Avi Ofer. Available on YouTube. Full lesson available on TED-Ed. This includes the video,…
Preferences/Values | Health/Medicine | Decision Psychology | Social Determinants | Economics/Finance | Global | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Working PaperPublication 2015Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Cities
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions …
This paper provides a short introduction to the use of benefit-cost analysis to assess interventions undertaken at the city or municipal level. It introduces the concepts that underlie the conduct of benefit-cost analysis, describes the major analytic components, and discusses how to tailor the analysis to the characteristics of the policy and the resources available. It concludes with a list of references for those interested in learning more.
Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
GuidelinesPublication 2014EPA Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses provide a framework for …
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidelines for Preparing Economic Analyses provide a framework for assessing the impacts of environmental regulations and policies that has been extensively peer-reviewed and is widely-applied both within and outside of the agency. The Guidelines discuss: (1) statutory and executive order requirements for conducting economic analyses; (2) identifying the need for policy action; (3) regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to pollution control; (4) baseline definition; (5) discounting future benefits and costs;…
Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
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