On October 18th and 20th the Evans Center for Benefit Cost Analysis and the Society for Benefit Cost Analysisheld their third annual conference. This years theme was: Developing Standards for Benefit Cost Analysis. Topics included methodological and logistical issues of conducting benefit-cost analyses of social policy, transportation safety and environmental issues. Of relevance the PEPR members, Steve Aos of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy presented on using benefit-cost analyses to analyze public safety along with Scott Farrow (UMBC), John Lott (Univ. of Maryland), and Amy Sinden (Temple University). Additionally, Lynn Karoly, Director of the Office of Research Quality A
New, three-year initiative, created by Pew and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with additional funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Seeks to calculate policies’ and programs’ true costs and benefits and put results first in making policy decisions. Integrate the Washington State Insitute for Public Policy Model intp new states with a four step process. Aims to expansd the WSIPP model, subject the WSIPP model to peer review, conduct a 50 state scan of the use of cost-benefit analysis. Bring the WSIPP model to 6-10 states. Interim Director Sara Watson discussed the effort in a presentation this past month.
