Resources Repository
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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…
Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Global -
ArticlePublication 2024Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Interventions to Improve Uptake of Diabetes Services in South Africa
This study examines the potential impact of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program on diabetes …
This study examines the potential impact of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program on diabetes diagnosis and treatment service utilization in South Africa (SA) using extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA). Applying a Markov model over a 45-year period, the analysis compares costs, health benefits, and financial risk protection (FRP) attributes of different CCT strategies, drawing from SA-specific data. Three scenarios were simulated: covering diagnosis services only, treatment services only, and both diagnosis and treatment services. Cost-effectiveness,…
Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2023Effects of Public Financing of Essential Maternal and Child Health Interventions Across Wealth Quintiles in Nigeria: An Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This study evaluates the potential health and financial risk protection benefits of public financing for …
This study evaluates the potential health and financial risk protection benefits of public financing for maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) interventions in Nigeria, focusing on different wealth quintiles. Employing extended cost-effectiveness analysis, the research assesses the impact of a policy ensuring zero out-of-pocket costs for 18 essential MNCH services. Three scenarios were modeled: status quo, uniform scale-up, and pro-poor scale-up. Findings suggest that a 5% increase in coverage for all quintiles could prevent significant…
Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Equity Impact of Minimum Unit Pricing of Alcohol
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) …
South Africa experiences significant levels of alcohol-related harm. Recent research suggests minimum unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol would be an effective policy, but high levels of income inequality raise concerns about equity impacts. This paper quantifies the equity impact of MUP on household health and finances in rich and poor drinkers in South Africa. Authors estimate MUP would reduce consumption more among the poorest than the richest drinkers. A MUP policy in South Africa has…
Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Chronic Disease/Risk | Social Determinants | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2021Toward Universal Health Coverage Post-COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult …
During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, advancement toward universal health coverage will become more difficult for many countries, demonstrating that locally led priority setting is urgently needed to provide health services with appropriate financial protection to all. Resources are limited and no national constituency can provide an unlimited number of services to their whole population in a sustainable manner, so rationing and setting priorities for the selection of interventions to be included in a defined…
Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Global -
ArticlePublication 2021Distributional Accounting Impact Model of Tobacco Taxation
As with other ‘sin taxes’, tobacco taxes are generally regarded as a highly cost-effective mechanism …
As with other ‘sin taxes’, tobacco taxes are generally regarded as a highly cost-effective mechanism to reduce consumption while also considered to be regressive. This dichotomy undermines efforts to fully implement tobacco taxes at levels recommended by the WHO due to concerns of fairness. This article demonstrates when there are circumstances in which the impacts of additional tobacco taxes are not regressive, using a standard income-share accounting definition of tax burden. The authors apply mathematical…
Policy/Regulation | Mathematical Models -
ArticlePublication 2022COVID-19 Response: The Need for Economic Evaluation
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be …
COVID-19-related policies are fraught with trade-offs. Many of these trade-offs involve dimensions that can be quantitatively weighed using economic evaluation, such as those between health and cost outcomes. Other types of dimensions, such as those involving equity or autonomy, can be harder to quantify but should be considered in a comprehensive health policy decision-making context nonetheless. The authors of this New England Journal of Medicine Perspectives article outline how methods of economic evaluation and decision…
Policy/Regulation | Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
ArticlePublication 2022Emerging Therapies for COVID-19: The Value of Information From More Clinical Trials
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face …
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face of uncertainty. This study aimed to quantify consequences of approving therapies or pursuing further research. The authors used a cohort state-transition model for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to estimate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs associated with multiple drug regimens and usual care. For each they assessed immediate approval, use only in research, emergency use authorization or reject. They conducted cost-effectiveness…
Policy/Regulation | Value of Information | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Economics/Finance | North America | Europe -
ArticlePublication 2022Potential Distributional Health & Financial Benefits of Increased Tobacco Taxes in Ethiopia: Findings from a Modeling Study
This study evaluates the potential impacts of Ethiopia's tobacco tax increase in 2020, which raised …
This study evaluates the potential impacts of Ethiopia's tobacco tax increase in 2020, which raised cigarette prices by approximately 67%. Employing parameters such as price elasticity of demand and smoking prevalence, the analysis utilizes existing literature and secondary data to model the effects of the reform on various outcomes, focusing on life years, tax revenues, cigarette expenditures, and catastrophic health expenditures (CHE). Concentrating solely on male smokers due to low female smoking rates, the results…
Policy/Regulation | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa