Developing Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis Conference, October 18–19, 2010
Sponsored by the Benefit-Cost Analysis Center at the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs and funded by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Conference Overview
This national policy forum focused on developing scientific principles and standards for making benefit-cost analysis (BCA) more consistent and implementable within the social policy field. Sessions featured leading benefit-cost analysis experts, academics, government officials, theorists, and practitioners speaking on improving BCA usage from government, public safety, general equilibrium, education, behavioral economics, and health and legal perspectives. Please note that attendance at this conference is by invitation only. Learn more about conference and travel logistics.
October 18-19, 2010: Developing Standars for Benefit-Cost Analysis. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
* Conference Summary and Highlights, Unleashing the Power of Social Benefit-Cost Analysis: Removing Barriers (367 KB PDF)
Monday, October 18
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Registration/Check-In and Continental Breakfast
The Atrium Ballroom, Foyer
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Welcome Remarks
The Atrium Ballroom
- Richard O. Zerbe, Director, Benefit-Cost Analysis Center
- Michael Stegman, Director of Policy and Housing, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Panel 1: Government Use of Benefit-Cost Analysis: Present and Future
The Atrium Ballroom
- Chair: Carol Bray, Senior Economist, U.S. Government Accountability Office
- Susan Dudley, Director, GW Regulatory Studies Center & Research Professor of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington University
- Neil R. Eisner, Assistant General Counsel, Office of Regulation and Enforcement, U.S. Department of Transportation
- Michael Fitzpatrick, Associate Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
- Joseph W. Glauber, Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break
The Atrium Ballroom
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Panel 2: Using Benefit-Cost Analysis to Analyze Public Safety
The Atrium Ballroom
- Chair: Scott Farrow, Professor and Chair of Economics, UMBC
- John Lott, Senior Research Scientist, University of Maryland, College Park
- Amy Sinden, Professor of Law, Temple University
- Steve Aos, Director, Washington State Institute for Public Policy
12:15 - 1:15 p.m. Lunch
The Atrium Ballroom
1:15 – 2:45 p.m. Panel 3: Education Policy and Benefit-Cost Analysis
The Atrium Ballroom
- Chair: Lynn Karoly, Senior Economist, RAND
- Clive Belfield, Associate Professor, Queens College, City University of New York
- Paul T. Hill, John and Marguerite Corbally Professor & Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington Bothell
- Danny Yagan, Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, Harvard University, and Nate Hilger, Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, Harvard University (co-presenters)
2:45 – 3:00 p.m. Break
The Atrium Ballroom
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Panel 4: The Use of General Equilibrium in Benefit-Cost Analysis
The Atrium Ballroom
- Chair: Roberton C. Williams III, Associate Professor, University of Maryland
- Allen Klaiber, Assistant Professor, The Pennsylvania State University
- Richard Just, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, College Park
This concludes the sessions for the day. Please join us for a dinner at Zola at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 19
7:15 – 8:00 a.m. Check-In and Continental Breakfast
The Springwood Room, Foyer
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Panel 5: Implications of Behavioral Economics for Benefit-Cost Analysis
The Springwood Room
- Chair: Brigitte Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management, Harvard University
- Lisa A. Robinson, Independent Consultant, and James K. Hammitt, Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences, Harvard University (co-presenters)
- Eric Moore, Research Assistant, Resources for the Future
- Jack Knetsch, Professor Emeritus, Simon Fraser University
- Justin Wolfers, Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy, University of Pennsylvania
9:35 – 11:05 a.m. Panel 6: The Use of Benefit-Cost Analysis and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Health and Public Safety
The Springwood Room
- Chair: Peter Neumann, Professor, Tufts Medical Center, & Director, Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health
- James K. Hammitt, Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences, Harvard University
- Joseph Cook, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, University of Washington
- Dave L. Weimer, Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science, University of Wisconsin - Madison
11:05 – 11:15 a.m. Break
The Springwood Room, Foyer
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Panel 7: Legal Perspective of Changing Environment
The Springwood Room
- Chair: Dan Cole, R. Townsend Professor of Law, Indiana University - Indianapolis
- Richard Revesz, Dean and Lawrence King Professor of Law, New York University
- Shi-Ling Hsu, Associate Professor of Law, University of British Columbia
- Matthew Adler, Leon Meltzer Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania
- Jonathan Nash, Professor of Law, Emory University
12:45 – 2:00 p.m. Luncheon
The Atrium Ballroom
Keynote Speaker Michael Greenstone, 3M Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Former Chief Economist of the Council of Economic Advisors on "The Social Cost of Carbon, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Rational Climate Change Policy"
Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis Conference
In addition, it may be of interest to you that the third annual meeting and conference of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis, titled Evidence and the “NEW” Policy Evaluation: Frontiers for Benefit-Cost Analysis” was held in the same location. For more information, please see the Society’s website.
Find out more about draft papers for principles and standards for using benefit-cost analysis and the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis. For more information, contact us at bcac@uw.edu or 206.616.4090.