Benefit-Cost Analysis for Public Health

RDS 204 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Across our courses, students learn an enormous amount about many diverse topics. But how can we best integrate that knowledge and use it to inform policy decisions? This course takes on that challenge. We focus on benefit-cost analysis (BCA), which is well-established and widely used globally to assess interventions implemented outside the health care system. Examples include interventions to reduce smoking, decrease exposure to environmental contaminants, and improve nutrition and dietary quality. We compare and contrast BCA to cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), which is more often used in health care. We explore the underlying normative concepts, the key analytic components and steps, the approaches used to value health and longevity, and the options for assessing distributional equity. 
Conducting high-quality, useful analyses is challenging. Decisions about whether and how to act often need to be made “now” despite gaps and limitations in the data available. This course aims to equip students with the basic knowledge and skills needed to structure these analyses, interpret the results, and understand the implications for decision-making. It involves substantial engagement with these issues through readings, discussions, and case studies.

The instructor would prefer that class registrants have completed an introductory microeconomics course at the undergraduate or graduate level prior to enrollment, or should seek permission of the instructor to enroll prior to registering. Questions regarding eligibility should be sent to the instructor.