Resources Repository
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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.
Priority Setting/Ethics | Preferences/Values | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
BookPublication 2016Foundations of Decision Analysis
This book is described by the authors as emerging from what they have learned by …
This book is described by the authors as emerging from what they have learned by "teaching decision analysis to thousands of people in the United States and around the world in university classes and special professional educational programs". The early chapters and certain later chapters are written to be accessible to a general audience. Chapters 1 through 17 introduce the foundations of decision analysis without requiring significant mathematical sophistication. Chapter 26 discusses multi-attribute decision problems…
Probability/Bayes | Decision Psychology | Decision Theory | Decision Analysis | Operations Research | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Global -
BookPublication 2013Handbook of Decision Analysis
This book describes the philosophy, technical concepts, mathematics, and art of decision analysis for the …
This book describes the philosophy, technical concepts, mathematics, and art of decision analysis for the decision professional, and is designed to be supplemental reading for professional decision analysis training courses, a reference for beginning and experienced practitioners, and a supplemental text for an undergraduate or graduate course in decision analysis. The handbook includes chapters on the following topics: decision-making challenges; mathematical foundations of decision analysis; decision analysis soft skills; selecting the decision making process for…
Preferences/Values | Probability/Bayes | Decision Theory | Value of Information | Decision Analysis | Economics/Finance | Energy/Engineering | Health/Medicine -
Working PaperPublication 2024Economic Evaluation Primer
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence …
Economic evaluation is a powerful tool, encouraging the systematic collection and assessment of the evidence needed to support sound policy decisions. In low- and middle-income countries, where resources are especially scarce and needs are very great, such decisions are exceptionally difficult. In these settings, economic evaluation can be particularly useful in determining how to best improve health and welfare. Typically, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is used to prioritize interventions within the health care sector. This approach…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Global -
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
BookPublication 2019Non-Communicable Disease Prevention: Best Buys, Wasted Buys, Contestable Buys
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and the majority of these …
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide, and the majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. This book provides practical guidelines and lessons learned through real-world case studies. It is intended to be informative to NCD program managers, policy officers and decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries, who need to comparatively assess interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs.The authors emphasize the importance of context in NCD control…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Global -
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 -
BookPublication 2010Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
This book explores the “hidden forces” that shape decisions as an argument against the common …
This book explores the “hidden forces” that shape decisions as an argument against the common assumption that people act in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, people consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Ariely shows that such misguided behaviors are systematic and predictable or “predictably irrational.”
Decision Psychology | Business/Industry | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
BookPublication 1978Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease
This report from the Institute of Medicine, The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery …
This report from the Institute of Medicine, The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease, was written to review and critique the decisions made around the 1976 swine flu threat. In 1976, a small group of soldiers at Fort Dix were infected with a swine flu virus that was deemed similar to the virus responsible for the great 1918-19 world-wide flu pandemic. The U.S. government initiated an unprecedented effort to immunize every American against…
Risk Analysis | Decision Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America