Understanding who gains and who loses from policy interventions is essential to sound decision-making. However, assessing the distributional equity of policy impacts is very challenging. To aid in addressing these challenges, CHDS deputy director Lisa A. Robinson is leading the upcoming professional development workshop, “Assessing Distribution and Equity.” She will be joined by CHDS faculty James K. Hammitt and other experts. The workshop is sponsored by the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis and will be held virtually on November 19 and November 21, 2024.
Guidelines for conducting benefit-cost analysis emphasize the need to supplement conventional analysis with information on how costs, benefits, and net benefits are distributed across members of advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Yet such analyses are rarely conducted, in part because of the difficulties inherent in determining who bears the costs and who receives the benefits. In addition, any such assessment raises challenging normative questions about how to measure the equity of the impacts. Understanding approaches for conducting these analyses and interpreting the results is becoming increasingly important, as exemplified by the emphasis on distributional analysis in recent updates to the U.S. guidance for assessing regulations and government investments.
The workshop will begin with an overview of current practices, including barriers to and opportunities for improving the conduct of distributional analysis. It will also cover the underlying theoretical and conceptual framework, alternative measures of relative disadvantage, adjustments for differences in the value of money to the wealthy and the poor, and application of social welfare functions. These concepts and approaches will be illustrated through cases studies that address varying policy contexts.
In addition to Robinson and Hammitt, instructors include Daniel Acland (University of California-Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy), Matthew D. Adler (Duke University), Maddalena Ferranna (University of Southern California Mann School of Pharmacy), and James E. Neumann (Industrial Economics, Incorporated).
Learn more: About the workshop and how to register
Learn more: Read articles from forthcoming Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis special issue on Ethics and Benefit-Cost Analysis:
- Social Welfare Functions and Health Policy: A New Approach
- The Global Burden of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing Benefit-Cost Analysis and Social Welfare Analysis
- From Benefit-Cost Analysis to Social Welfare: A Pragmatic Approach
- The Right Numeraire or the Just Weights? How to Make BCA Rational and Fair
Related news: U.S. Updates Influential Economic Evaluation Guidance
Related news: Robinson Teaches “Valuing Life and Health” Course