Resources Repository
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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 -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2022Resource Pack: Decision Analysis & Childhood Obesity
This resource pack on childhood obesity was curated by the Center for Health Decision Science …
This resource pack on childhood obesity was curated by the Center for Health Decision Science to showcase existing cost-effectiveness analyses and motivate students, educators, and others to pursue new applications of decision science methods to the public health challenge of obesity. The resource pack was motivated by the NEJM article entitled Simulation of Growth Trajectories of Childhood Obesity into Adulthood published on November 30, 2017, with CHDS co-authors Zach Ward and Stephen Resch. Citation: Ward Z, Long M,…
Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Policy/Regulation | Clinical Care | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Expanding Oral Disease Treatment is Cost Effective
This study developed a stochastic microsimulation model of oral health conditions, type-2 diabetes (T2D), T2D-related …
This study developed a stochastic microsimulation model of oral health conditions, type-2 diabetes (T2D), T2D-related microvascular diseases, and CVD, to project the cost-effectiveness of expanding periodontal treatment coverage among patients with T2D and periodontitis. Previous randomized trials found that treating periodontitis improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), thus lowering the risks of developing T2D-related microvascular diseases and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The micro-simulation model parameters were obtained from the nationally representative National…
Calibration/Validation | Mathematical Models | Microsimulation | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | North America | Graduate -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2021Resource Pack: Valuing Health and Longevity in BCA
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the valuation of changes in health and longevity in benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students and practitioners who have a basic understanding of the benefit-cost analysis framework, as discussed in the Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis. That pack provides a general overview of the approaches that are explored in more detail here, as well as related guidance documents. This pack…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
Online LearningVideo, Teaching Resource 2020Valuing Statistical Lives: Concepts, Current Practices, and Challenges
Many policies aim to improve longevity, decreasing the risk of death in each year, and …
Many policies aim to improve longevity, decreasing the risk of death in each year, and the value of these risk reductions often dominate the estimated benefits of risk regulations and other policies. This value is often expressed as the value per statistical life (VSL), a term that is widely misunderstood. It is not the value that the analyst, the government, or the individual places on saving an identified life with certainty. Instead, it reflects individuals’…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Global -
ArticlePublication 2020Premature Deaths, Statistical Lives, and Years of Life
This article clarifies some misconceptions about mortality risk and economic valuation. The mortality effects of …
This article clarifies some misconceptions about mortality risk and economic valuation. The mortality effects of exposure to environmental hazards such as air pollution are often described by the estimated number of “premature deaths” and the economic value of an exposure reduction as the number of “statistical lives saved” multiplied by the “value per statistical life.” These terms can be misleading because the number of deaths advanced by exposure cannot be determined from mortality data; it…
Benefit-Cost Analysis | Preferences/Values | Health Outcomes | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Teaching PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2022Teaching Pack: Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This teaching pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, features videos introducing extended …
This teaching pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, features videos introducing extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) and detailing how it is conducted, and assembles ECEA publications and teaching materials. In addition to the videos, this teaching pack includes a glossary and tutorial. Videos include: Video 1. Introduction to ECEA (~2 min) Video 2. Quantifying Health Benefits (~4 min) Video 3. Private Expenditures Averted (~3 min) Video 4. Financial Risk Protection (~5 min) Video 5.…
Costing Methods | Priority Setting/Ethics | Health Outcomes | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global