Benefit-Cost Analysis Center


The core aim of the Benefit-Cost Analysis Center is to improve the understanding and use of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) as a decision-making tool. Our research and outreach is geared toward:

  • Improving and standardizing benefit-cost analysis methodology
  • Strengthening relationships between institutions that use it
  • Disseminating information about its use and misuse
  • Expanding its use when appropriate

This involves working with a variety of government agencies and academic professionals whose work involves benefit-cost analysis. We accomplish this through:

  • Working with the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis
  • Convening with government benefit-cost analysts at the federal, state, and local levels
  • Publishing academic papers on benefit-cost analysis methodology

News and Announcements

The Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis (JBCA) has announced the Arnold Harberger Prize for Retrospective Analysis. Submissions are encouraged by early summer 2012 and may be an empirical, retrospective case study in any field and any part of the world, or an advance in methodological thought on retrospective analysis. The award and an honorarium of at least $2,000 will be given to the best retrospective paper published in the JBCA as chosen in consultation with the editorial board. Contact the editors for more information or submit a paper online to the JBCA.

The Pew Charitable Trusts Results First program is recruiting for a senior associate based out of Pew's Washington, D.C. office. This position will provide strategic policy and research support, and will support selected states implementing the cost-benefit model and using its results in policy and budget decisions. Contact Andrew Zalman for more information.

New Brookings Institution Piece Describes Benefit of Using Cost-Effectiveness to Guide Congressional Spending Cuts. Ron Haskins, senior fellow Brookings Institution, and Jon Baron, president of Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, have authored a piece in support of the newly-enacted federal evidence-based policy initiatives, which would be largely de-funded by the House Appropriations Committee's 2012 spending bill. Read the article

Save the Date: Theory, Science, and Statistics in the Use of Benefit-Cost Analysis Conference, Oct. 20–21, 2011. Panels on methodological topics such as “Risk and Benefit-Cost Analysis” will focus on the application of theory and cutting-edge scholarship to empirical policy evaluation, and thematic topics such as “Children At Risk” will focus on the use of benefit-cost analysis in evidence-based social policy decision-making. By invitation only. View the conference agenda.

The Institute for Policy Integrity will host their third annual workshop on benefit-cost analysis and issue advocacy. Aligning Environmental and Transportation Policies to Mitigate Climate Change will be held Oct. 26, 2011 at NYU. Learn more

Washington State Institute for Public Policy has constructed an analytical tool for the Washington legislature to help identify evidence-based sentencing and programming policy options to reduce crime and taxpayer criminal justice costs. Read the report "WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Tool for States: Examining Policy Options in Sentencing and Corrections."

The Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, published by Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress), was launched July 2010. Preview the current issue or submit a manuscript for consideration in future issues.

Short Course on Comparative Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness: Methods and Measurement: This two-day course aims to provide participants with knowledge and hands-on experience in the nuts and bolts of the methods employed in the practices of evidence-based and value-based approaches. The course directors are Peter J. Neumann and Stanley Ip. This is the third annual course presented by Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Tufts CTSI), to be held June 21-22, 2011 at the Museum of Science in Boston. Learn more

Resources for the Future is pleased to announce the publication of "The Reality of Precaution: Comparing Risk Regulation in the United States and Europe." For information from a March 25 symposium celebrating this event, visit the Resources for the Future website. Learn more

The President’s FY 2011 budget includes a statement on Benefit-Cost Analysis. The statement is located in the Performance and Management section.

Learn more about the recent conferences supported by the Benefit-Cost Analysis Center:

October 18-19, 2010: Developing Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

October 19-20, 2010: 2010 Annual Conference and Meeting of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Evidence and the "NEW" Policy Evaluation: Frontiers for Benefit-Cost Analysis

October 19-20, 2009: Unleashing the Power of Social Benefit-Cost Analysis: Removing Barriers. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

October 20-21, 2009: 2009 Annual Conference and Meeting of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Advancing the Practice of Benefit-Cost Analysis

Read an interview with Benefit-Cost Analysis Center Founder and Director, Richard O. Zerbe, Jr.:

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Find out more about what benefit-cost analysis is and draft papers on principles and standards for it.  You can also contact us at bcac@uw.edu or 206.616.4090.