Resources Repository
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ReportPublication 2021Valuing COVID-19 Mortality and Morbidity Risks
In this report, the researchers develop an approach for valuing COVID-19 mortality and morbidity risk …
In this report, the researchers develop an approach for valuing COVID-19 mortality and morbidity risk reductions that builds on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Analysis. They review the differences between COVID-19 mortality risks and the types of risks that are more commonly studied, and find that the impacts of these differences on the value of mortality risk reductions (the value per statistical life, VSL) are uncertain. They…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | 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 | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Government/Law | 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 | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America -
BookPublication 2022Prioritarianism in Practice
This book describes the application of prioritarianism, a philosophical approach that gives extra weight to …
This book describes the application of prioritarianism, a philosophical approach that gives extra weight to the well-being of those who are worse off. In welfare economics, it can be implemented in the form of a prioritarian social welfare function (SWF). The SWF framework, unlike benefit-cost analysis, uses interpersonally comparable well-being numbers as the foundation for policy assessment. The book illustrates the application of this approach by an international network of scholars, to advance our understanding…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Graduate -
ArticlePublication 2021Health Opportunity Cost Threshold for CEA in the U.S.
Using a modeled cohort of 100,000 individuals in the United States with private health insurance, …
Using a modeled cohort of 100,000 individuals in the United States with private health insurance, the authors simulated the short-term mortality and morbidity resulting from increased premium related cancelation of insurance coverage. The authors used this model to estimate cost-effectiveness thresholds, in dollars per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained based on health opportunity costs. They reported the number of persons who dropped insurance coverage, resulting number of additional deaths and QALYs lost from mortality and…
Microsimulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | North America -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Ethiopian Health Decision Sciences
This resource pack provides a curated set of peer-reviewed articles that represent the growing evidence …
This resource pack provides a curated set of peer-reviewed articles that represent the growing evidence base for decision making and priority setting in Ethiopia - with an emphasis on improving health, reducing inequity, and preventing health-related impoverishment. Curated by Dr. Stéphane Verguet at the Center for Health Decision Science, most of the papers reflect work done as part of the Disease Control Priorities-Ethiopia (DCP-E) project. The pack provides scholarship that spans maternal-child health, vaccine-preventable disease, infectious…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2020Resource Pack: Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Excise Taxes
The use of fiscal instruments, such as taxes or subsidies, to promote healthier dietary behavior …
The use of fiscal instruments, such as taxes or subsidies, to promote healthier dietary behavior has been of increasing interest in the last decade as the evidence-base builds for the health and economic consequences of obesity, overweight, and unhealthy eating. The motivation for using fiscal instruments in nutrition policy is to make the unhealthy option less affordable and less economically attractive by increasing the price via a tax, and therefore reduce the incentive to consume…
Microsimulation | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America | Latin America & Caribbean | Europe | Oceania -
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…
Microsimulation | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation | Quantitative Literacy -
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 | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | North America