NELLCO Legal Scholarship Repository

Title

Contingent Valuation Studies and Health Policy

Authors

Matthew D. Adler, University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Comments

Health Economics, Policy & Law, Vol. 5, Pg. 123, 2010

Abstract

This short comment argues that both cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) should be seen as imperfect tools for evaluating health policy. This is true, not only for extra-welfarists, but even for welfarists, since both CBA and CEA can deviate from the use of social welfare functions (SWF). A simple model is provided to illustrate the divergence between CBA, CEA, and the SWF approach. With this insight in mind, the comment considers the appropriate role of contingent-valuation studies.

For full text, please see: http://www.law.upenn.edu/cf/faculty/madler/workingpapers/578A59B6d01.pdf.

Date of Authorship for this Version

2010

Keywords

Cost-benefit analysis, CBA, cost-effectiveness analysis, CEA, willingness to pay, willingness to accept, extrawelfarism, welfarism, Kaldor-Hicks principle, social welfare functions, health policy choice, welfare theory

Recommended Citation

Adler, Matthew D., "Contingent Valuation Studies and Health Policy" (2010). Scholarship at Penn Law. Paper 312.
http://lsr.nellco.org/upenn_wps/312