Upcoming Events
2021 SBCA Annual Conference
March 17-19 and 22-24, 2021
Online
2021 European Conference
October 19-20, 2021
Stockholm, Sweden
SBCA Annual Conference
The SBCA conference will be held online March 17-19 and March 22-24, 2021. Sessions will be spread throughout the day to facilitate participation across time zones. The program features an exciting mix of research presentations, roundtable discussions, innovative sessions, and plenary sessions with leading experts and as well as opportunities for networking. Registration is open.
We are pleased to announce a series of plenaries with leading experts on diverse topics. Examples include the following.
- Sustainable Recovery from Covid-19, Phoebe Koundouri, Athens University of Economics and Business, moderated by Dale Whittington with comments from Laura Taylor.
- Policy Choice under Uncertainty, with Application to Vaccination and Climate Policy, Charles Manski, Northwestern University, moderated by John Pepper with comments from Emma McIntosh and Robert Pindyck.
- Systems Analysis, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Benefit-Cost Analysis, and Government Decisions, Alain Enthoven, Stanford University, moderated by Deborah Freund.
- The Role of Cost-Benefit Analysis in World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank-Funded Projects, a conversation with Tijen Arin, Stephen Hutton, Onil Banerjee (TBC), and Adrien Vogt-Schilb (TBC), moderated by Richard Damania.
- Benefit-Cost Analysis and U.S. Policy: The View from the White House, a conversation with Council of Economic Advisers members from the Obama and Bush administrations: Katharine G. Abraham, Katherine Baicker, and Donald Marron, moderated by Ann Wolverton.
- Integrating Economics and Epidemiology in the COVID-19 Context, a conversation with Christopher Avery, William Bossert, Natalie Dean, and Eleanor Murray, moderated by James K. Hammitt
- Unifying Welfare Analysis with the Marginal Value of Public Funds, Nathaniel Hendren, Harvard University, moderated by Lisa A Robinson
On Balance Blog
On Balance: Publication Selection Biases in Stated Preference Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life
February 18, 2021
By: W. Kip Viscusi, Vanderbilt Law School
International studies valuing mortality risk changes often rely on stated preference estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL). Because labor market data in most countries are not as reliable as the fatality rate statistics in the United States, stated preference evidence for the VSL provides a popular research strategy for obtaining country-specific estimates. Unfortunately, this article finds that this literature is subject to rampant publication selection effects, leading to huge biases in the estimated VSL levels. Read more
Program Assessment Opportunity with the World Bank
The World Bank‘s Sustainable Development Practice Group (WB SDPG) is seeking consultant economists to carry out economic and financial analysis of investment projects in the following areas: agriculture and food; environment, natural resources, social development; urban development, disaster risk management, with climate change being a cross-cutting topic.
If you have significant training and experience in analyzing the economic and financial viability of investments in any of these fields, we would like to invite you to register in the WB SDPG Roster of Consultant Project Economists by filling out an online questionnaire.
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis
JBCA Fall Issue Now Available
This issue features seven articles with specific and timely policies suggestions for the incoming Presidential administration in the U.S.
Volume 11 - Issue 2 of JBCA - Summer 2020
The issue presents a set of eight papers of much practical importance to the practice of benefit-cost analysis.
Volume 11 - Issue 1 of the JBCA Spring 2020
The spring 2020 edition of the Journal presents a collection of seven papers addressing the role of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)...
SBCA News
Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Presenting a Session at ASSA 2021 Annual Meeting
Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis – Advice for a New Presidential Term -Panel Session- Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EDT)- Hosted By: SOCIETY FOR BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS
Covid-19 BCA Resources
SBCA is currently dedicated to providing the latest and most informative information on COVID-19 Policy Benefit-Cost Resources.
SBCA Member Benefits
Significant discounts on the SBCA Annual Conference registration.
Connection to the pre-eminent, global community of benefit-cost practitioners, advocates, and academics.
A complimentary subscription to the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis.
Access to a growing supply of members-only programs and benefits.
Support of the only organization dedicated entirely to the practice and advancement of benefit-cost analysis.
What Is Benefit-Cost Analysis?
Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is a process through which companies, governmental authorities, and organizations around the world systematically measure and assess the pros and cons of alternatives. BCA can be used to analyze long term effects of large-scale investments, events, regulations, policies, and high-level decisions. BCA goes beyond other disciplines to evaluate not only the financial impact of decisions and actions, but the social, environmental, cultural, and other effects.