scholarly journals Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (S1) ◽  
pp. 15-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Robinson ◽  
James K. Hammitt ◽  
Lucy O’Keeffe
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Income Elasticity ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Income Differences ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Statistical Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Benefit Cost

The estimates used to value mortality risk reductions are a major determinant of the benefits of many public health and environmental policies. These estimates (typically expressed as the value per statistical life, VSL) describe the willingness of those affected by a policy to exchange their own income for the risk reductions they experience. While these values are relatively well studied in high-income countries, less is known about the values held by lower-income populations. We identify 26 studies conducted in the 172 countries considered low- or middle-income in any of the past 20 years; several have significant limitations. Thus there are few or no direct estimates of VSL for most such countries. Instead, analysts typically extrapolate values from wealthier countries, adjusting only for income differences. This extrapolation requires selecting a base value and an income elasticity that summarizes the rate at which VSL changes with income. Because any such approach depends on assumptions of uncertain validity, we recommend that analysts conduct a standardized sensitivity analysis to assess the extent to which their conclusions change depending on these estimates. In the longer term, more research on the value of mortality risk reductions in low- and middle-income countries is essential.

scholarly journals Estimating the Values of Mortality Risk Reductions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Mortality Risks ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Statistical Life ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Value Per Statistical Life ◽  
Low And Middle Income

The value of small changes in mortality risks, generally expressed as the value per statistical life, is an important parameter in benefit-cost analysis. However, little is known about the values held by populations in low- and middle-income countries. This article introduces a symposium that includes three additional articles which explore related theory and research.

scholarly journals Standardized Sensitivity Analysis in BCA: An Education Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (S1) ◽  
pp. 206-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Pradhan ◽  
Dean T. Jamison
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Mortality Risks ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
Wage Increases ◽  
Benefit Cost

Benefit-cost analyses of education policies in low- and middle-income countries have historically used the effect of education on future wages to estimate benefits. Strong evidence also points to female education reducing both the under-five mortality rates of their children and adult mortality rates. A more complete analysis would thus add the value of mortality risk reduction to wage increases. This paper estimates how net benefits and benefit-cost ratios respond to the values used to estimate education’s mortality-reducing impact including variation in these estimates. We utilize a ‘standardized sensitivity analysis’ to generate a range of valuations of education’s impact on mortality risks. We include alternative ways of adjusting these values for income and age differences. Our analysis is for one additional year of schooling in lower-middle-income countries, incremental to the current mean. Our analysis shows a range of benefit-cost ratios ranging from 3.2 to 6.7, and net benefits ranging from $2,800 to $7,300 per student. Benefits from mortality risk reductions account for 40% to 70% of the overall benefits depending on the scenario. Thus, accounting for changes in mortality risks in addition to wage increases noticeably enhances the value of already attractive education investments.

scholarly journals Conducting Benefit-Cost Analysis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Introduction to the Special Issue

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Robinson ◽  
James K. Hammitt ◽  
Dean T. Jamison ◽  
Damian G. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
Health And Development ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
Global Health And Development

Investing in global health and development requires making difficult choices about what policies to pursue and what level of resources to devote to different initiatives. Methods of economic evaluation are well established and widely used to quantify and compare the impacts of alternative investments. However, if not well conducted and clearly reported, these evaluations can lead to erroneous conclusions. Differences in analytic methods and assumptions can obscure important differences in impacts. To increase the comparability of these evaluations, improve their quality, and expand their use, this special issue includes a series of papers developed to support reference case guidance for benefit-cost analysis. In this introductory article, we discuss the background and context for this work, summarize the process we are following, describe the overall framework, and introduce the articles that follow.

scholarly journals Income Elasticities and Global Values of a Statistical Life

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kip Viscusi ◽  
Clayton J. Masterman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Income Elasticity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Statistical Life ◽  
Income Elasticities ◽  
The World

Countries throughout the world use estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) to monetize fatality risks in benefit-cost analyses. However, the vast majority of countries lack reliable revealed preference or stated preference estimates of the VSL. This article proposes that the best way to calculate a population-average VSL for countries with insufficient or unreliable data is to transfer a base VSL from the United States calculated using labor market estimates from Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data, coupled with adjustments for differences in income between the United States and the country of interest. This approach requires estimation of two critical inputs: a base U.S. VSL and the income elasticity of the VSL. Drawing upon previous meta-analyses that include adjustments for publication selection biases, we adopt a base VSL of $9.6 million. We utilize a sample of 953 VSL estimates from 68 labor market studies of the VSL covering fourteen lower-middle income to high income nations. We estimate the income elasticity of the VSL within the United States to be from 0.5 to 0.7 and to be just above 1.0 for non-U.S. countries. Quantile regression reveals that much of the disparity in income elasticities is attributable to income differences between the United States and other countries, as the income elasticity increases for lower income populations. Using income classifications from the World Bank, we calculate average VSLs in lower income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and upper income countries to be $107,000, $420,000, $1.2 million, and $6.4 million, respectively. We also present VSL estimates for all 189 countries for which World Bank income data are available, yielding a VSL range from $45,000 to $18.3 million.

scholarly journals Obesities: A New Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Interdisciplinary Journal Fostering Research on Multifactorial Obesity and Associated Cardiometabolic Disorders

Obesities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-28
Author(s):  
Bruno Guigas
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Urban Transition ◽  
Cardiometabolic Disorders ◽  
Interdisciplinary Journal ◽  
Low And Middle Income

Obesity prevalence has increased continuously over the past 50 years, a dramatic worldwide expansion not only limited to industrialized countries but also observed in a large number of low- and middle-income countries experiencing rapid rural–urban transition [...]

scholarly journals Mortality risk in preterm and small-for-gestational-age infants in low-income and middle-income countries: a pooled country analysis

The Lancet ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 382 (9890) ◽  
pp. 417-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Katz ◽  
Anne CC Lee ◽  
Naoko Kozuki ◽  
Joy E Lawn ◽  
Simon Cousens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gestational Age ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Small For Gestational Age ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Country Analysis

scholarly journals Tobacco Control in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Changing the Present to Help the Future

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethany Hipple Walters ◽  
Ionela Petrea ◽  
Harry Lando
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
World Health ◽  
Second Hand Smoke ◽  
Vulnerable Children ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Second Hand Smoke Exposure ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Low And Middle Income

While the global smoking rate has dropped in the past 30 years (from 41.2% of men in 1980 to 31.1% in 2012 and from 10.6% of women in 1980 to 6.2% in 2012), the number of tobacco smokers has increased due to population growth (Ng et al., 2014). This tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure continue to harm people worldwide. Those harmed are often vulnerable: children, those living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), those with existing diseases, etc. As noted by the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 80% of those who smoke live in a LMIC (World Health Organization, 2017). Furthermore, it is often those who are more socio-economically disadvantaged or less educated in LMICs that are exposed to second-hand smoke at home and work (Nazar, Lee, Arora, & Millett, 2015).

scholarly journals Global Burden of Stroke

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (02) ◽  
pp. 208-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mira Katan ◽  
Andreas Luft
Keyword(s):  
Hemorrhagic Stroke ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Stroke Incidence ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Incidence And Mortality ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Life Years Lost

AbstractStroke is the second leading cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Its incidence is increasing because the population ages. In addition, more young people are affected by stroke in low- and middle-income countries. Ischemic stroke is more frequent but hemorrhagic stroke is responsible for more deaths and disability-adjusted life-years lost. Incidence and mortality of stroke differ between countries, geographical regions, and ethnic groups. In high-income countries mainly, improvements in prevention, acute treatment, and neurorehabilitation have led to a substantial decrease in the burden of stroke over the past 30 years. This article reviews the epidemiological and clinical data concerning stroke incidence and burden around the globe.

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