Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2024Adopting Electric School Buses in the U.S.: Health & Climate Benefits
This article evaluates the health and climate benefits of replacing diesel school buses with electric …
This article evaluates the health and climate benefits of replacing diesel school buses with electric models in the U.S. Despite the high cost of electric buses, their benefits in reducing mortality and childhood asthma, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, could justify the investment. The study quantifies the benefits of replacing an average diesel bus with an electric bus, estimating $84,200 in total benefits per bus, with $40,400 from climate benefits and $43,800 from health…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Environmental Health | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2023Benefits and Costs of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations …
Written mid-pandemic, this article evaluates the direct costs and health benefits of requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. federal employees and healthcare and private sector workers. These mandates were controversial and some were halted by litigation. If they had been implemented as intended, the net benefits would depend on the course of the pandemic. If a more transmissible variant (such as Omicron) emerges, the net benefits may be large. If the pandemic instead fades, the benefits…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | State-Transition | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Valuing COVID-19 Mortality Risk
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life …
In this article, the author evaluates whether conventional estimates of the value per statistical life (VSL) in the United States (about $10 million) are appropriate for evaluating policies that affect risk of COVID-19. This estimate may be too large, because: (1) VSL estimates marginal values but COVID-19 risks can be non-marginal; (2) VSL is estimated for the average resident, but COVID-19 mortality is concentrated among the elderly; and (3) the pandemic has caused substantial losses…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021COVID and the Age–VSL Relationship
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions …
In this article, the researchers explore the approach used to value COVID-19 mortality risk reductions in analyses of lockdowns and other policies. Many rely on a population-average estimate of the value per statistical life (VSL); others adjust VSL for life expectancy at the age of death. The article explores the implications of theory and empirical studies, which suggest that the relationship between age and VSL is uncertain; these uncertainties in turn may affect whether the…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Government/Law | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2013Nutritional Policy Changes in SNAP: A Microsimulation and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This analysis estimated the health effects and cost-effectiveness of banning or taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) …
This analysis estimated the health effects and cost-effectiveness of banning or taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) or subsidizing fruits and vegetables purchased with SNAP. The target population was adults in the U.S. and the time horizon was 10 years. Results showed that banning SSB purchases using SNAP benefits would be expected to avert 510,000 diabetes person-years and 52,000 deaths from MIs and strokes over the next decade, with a savings of $2900 per QALY saved. A…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2019Cost-Effectiveness of U.S. National SSB Tax with a Multistakeholder Approach: Who Pays and Who Benefits
This analysis estimated the health impact and cost-effectiveness of a national penny-per-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) …
This analysis estimated the health impact and cost-effectiveness of a national penny-per-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, overall and with stratified costs and benefits for nine distinct stakeholder groups. A microsimulation model (CVD PREDICT) was used to estimate cardiovascular disease reductions, quality-adjusted life years gained, and cost-effectiveness for U.S. adults aged 35 to 85 years, evaluating full and partial consumer price pass-through. Results showed that from both a health care and societal perspective, the SSB tax was…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2016Mexico's SSB Tax Policy Impact on Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: Modeling Study
In 2014, Mexico instituted a nationwide tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in order to reduce …
In 2014, Mexico instituted a nationwide tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in order to reduce the high level of SSB consumption, a preventable cause of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this analyses, a computer simulation model of CVD was used to project potential long-range health and economic impacts of SSB taxation in Mexico. Two main scenarios were modeled: (1) a 10% reduction in SSB consumption (corresponding to the reduction observed after tax implementation) and…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Latin America & Caribbean -
ArticlePublication 2019Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Taxes for Reducing Cancer Burden in the U.S.
This analysis evaluated the health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) …
This analysis evaluated the health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax policy for reducing obesity-related cancer in the U.S. A probabilistic cohort state-transition model, the Diet Cancer Outcome Model (DiCOM), was used to project the effect of a national $0.01 per ounce SSB excise tax on 13 obesity-associated cancers among U.S. adults age 20 and older over their lifetime. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using both government affordability and societal perspectives. Results showed…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2018Cost-Effectiveness of Financial Incentives and Disincentives for Improving Food Purchases and Health through SNAP
This analysis estimated the health impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness of food incentives, disincentives, or restrictions …
This analysis estimated the health impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness of food incentives, disincentives, or restrictions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). A microsimulation model (CVD-PREDICT) was used to compare three policy interventions: (1) a 30% incentive for fruits and vegetables (F&V), (2) a 30% F&V incentive with a restriction of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and (3) a broader incentive/disincentive program for multiple foods that also preserves choice (SNAP-plus). From a societal perspective, all three scenarios…
Microsimulation | Government/Law | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | North America