PUBH 6012 FINAL FULL SOLUTION
QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE ANSWERS
PREPARATION RESOURCE
●● What are the three main types of descriptive (ex-post) policy
analysis?
Answer: - Retrospective: descriptive interpretation of past policies and
implementation
- Evaluative: evaluates impact on desired outcomes - did the policy
work?
Economic: CBA (Cost-Benefit Analysis), CEA (Cost-Effectiveness
Analysis), CUA (Cost-Utility Analysis) - what value was achieved for
resources spent?
●● What is the purpose of economic policy analyses (CBA, CUA,
CEA)?
Answer: To find the most efficient means of achieving desired objectives
- either minimize resources used to achieve an objective, or maximize
the amount of objective achieved given a fixed expenditure of resources
●● What is Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and how is it measured?
Answer: Purpose: determine which intervention produces the greatest
net monetary benefit
,Measurement: both costs AND benefits measured in monetary units. Net
benefit = total benefit - total cost
●● What is Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)?
Answer: Purpose: determines which intervention produces the most of a
desired outcome for a given expenditure (or costs the least to achieve a
given outcome)
Measurement: costs in monetary units, effectiveness in a nonmonetary
unit (e.g., years of life saved, HIV infections averted, smoking cessation
rates)
Note: cost-effective does not equal cost savings
●● What is Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) and what makes "utility"
different?
Answer: Purpose: determines which intervention produces the most
utility per dollar
Utility: the pleasure/satisfaction a person derives from a good or service
- subjective, varies between people. Measured on a scale (e.g., death = 0,
perfect health = 1)
Common measures: Life Years Saved (LYS), Quality-Adjusted Life
Years (QALYs)
, ●● CBA vs. CEA vs. CUA - what is the OUTCOME measured in each?
Answer: - CBA: benefits = monetary units (dollars)
- CEA: effectiveness = nonmonetary units (e.g., infections averted, years
of life saved)
- CUA: utility = nonmonetary units, on a 0-1 scale (e.g., QALYs)
Costs are always in monetary units
●● What is the definition of a policy options analysis? (Wilensky &
Teitelbaum)
Answer: An analysis that provides informed advice to a client related to
a public policy decision and includes a recommended course of action
(or inaction) and is framed by the client's powers and values
Weakness: myopia from client orientation and time pressure
●● What are the 6 steps of the basic policy analysis process?
Answer: 1. Verify, define, and detail the problem
2. Establish evaluation criteria
3. Identify alternative policies
4. Evaluate alternative policies
5. Distinguish among alternatives
QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE ANSWERS
PREPARATION RESOURCE
●● What are the three main types of descriptive (ex-post) policy
analysis?
Answer: - Retrospective: descriptive interpretation of past policies and
implementation
- Evaluative: evaluates impact on desired outcomes - did the policy
work?
Economic: CBA (Cost-Benefit Analysis), CEA (Cost-Effectiveness
Analysis), CUA (Cost-Utility Analysis) - what value was achieved for
resources spent?
●● What is the purpose of economic policy analyses (CBA, CUA,
CEA)?
Answer: To find the most efficient means of achieving desired objectives
- either minimize resources used to achieve an objective, or maximize
the amount of objective achieved given a fixed expenditure of resources
●● What is Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and how is it measured?
Answer: Purpose: determine which intervention produces the greatest
net monetary benefit
,Measurement: both costs AND benefits measured in monetary units. Net
benefit = total benefit - total cost
●● What is Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA)?
Answer: Purpose: determines which intervention produces the most of a
desired outcome for a given expenditure (or costs the least to achieve a
given outcome)
Measurement: costs in monetary units, effectiveness in a nonmonetary
unit (e.g., years of life saved, HIV infections averted, smoking cessation
rates)
Note: cost-effective does not equal cost savings
●● What is Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) and what makes "utility"
different?
Answer: Purpose: determines which intervention produces the most
utility per dollar
Utility: the pleasure/satisfaction a person derives from a good or service
- subjective, varies between people. Measured on a scale (e.g., death = 0,
perfect health = 1)
Common measures: Life Years Saved (LYS), Quality-Adjusted Life
Years (QALYs)
, ●● CBA vs. CEA vs. CUA - what is the OUTCOME measured in each?
Answer: - CBA: benefits = monetary units (dollars)
- CEA: effectiveness = nonmonetary units (e.g., infections averted, years
of life saved)
- CUA: utility = nonmonetary units, on a 0-1 scale (e.g., QALYs)
Costs are always in monetary units
●● What is the definition of a policy options analysis? (Wilensky &
Teitelbaum)
Answer: An analysis that provides informed advice to a client related to
a public policy decision and includes a recommended course of action
(or inaction) and is framed by the client's powers and values
Weakness: myopia from client orientation and time pressure
●● What are the 6 steps of the basic policy analysis process?
Answer: 1. Verify, define, and detail the problem
2. Establish evaluation criteria
3. Identify alternative policies
4. Evaluate alternative policies
5. Distinguish among alternatives
