Investing in the Disadvantaged: Assessing the Benefits and Costs of Social Policies (American Governance and Public Policy Series)

With budgets squeezed at every level of government, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) holds outstanding potential for assessing the efficiency of many programs. In this first book to address the application of CBA to social policy, experts examine ten of the most important policy domains: early childhood development, elementary and secondary schools, health care for the disadvantaged, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, juvenile crime, prisoner reentry programs, housing assistance, work-incentive programs for the unemployed and employers, and welfare-to-work interventions.Each contributor discusses the applicability of CBA to actual programs, describing both proven and promising examples. The editors provide an introduction to cost-benefit analysis, assess the programs described, and propose a research agenda for promoting its more widespread application in social policy. "Investing in the Disadvantaged" considers how to face America's most urgent social needs with shrinking resources, showing how CBA can be used to inform policy choices that produce social value. Social policy and cost-benefit analysis / Aidan R. Vining and David L. Weimer Early childhood interventions and cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses / Barbara Wolfe and Nathan Tefft Guiding human capital investments in elementary and secondary school with cost-benefit analysis / Clive R. Belfield Health care for disadvantaged populations : the role of cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis / David J. Vanness Socially desirable programs/interventions for adults with serious mental illnesses and needs for cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness studies / Mark S. Salzer Cost-benefit analyses of investments to control illicit substance abuse and addiction / Jonathan P. Caulkins Promising areas for new research on the economic effects of juvenile crime interventions / Jeffrey A. Butts and John K. Roman Prisoner reentry programming : opportunities for economic analysis / John K. Roman and Christy Visher Cost-benefit analyses of using housing assistance to promote human capital : a conceptualization and review of the evidence / Lance Freeman Policies, programs, and demonstrations to encourage work : what are productive next steps? / Robert Lerman Next steps in welfare-to-work / Michael Wiseman Cba of welfare-to-work interventions / David Greenberg Overview of the state-of-the-art of cba in social policy / Aidan R. Vining and David L. Weimer Agenda for promoting and improving the use of cba in social policy / David L. Weimer and Aidan R. Vining. With budgets squeezed at every level of government, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) holds outstanding potential for assessing the efficiency of many programs. In this first book to address the application of CBA to social policy, experts examine ten of the most important policy domains: early childhood development, elementary and secondary schools, health care for the disadvantaged, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, juvenile crime, prisoner reentry programs, housing assistance, work-incentive programs for the unemployed and employers, and welfare-to-work interventions. Each contributor discusses the applicability of CBA to actual programs, describing both proven and promising examples.The editors provide an introduction to cost-benefit analysis, assess the programs described, and propose a research agenda for promoting its more widespread application in social policy. Investing in the Disadvantaged considers how to face America's most urgent social needs with shrinking resources, showing how CBA can be used to inform policy choices that produce social value. With budgets squeezed at every level of government, cost-benefit analysis (CBA) holds outstanding potential for assessing the efficiency of many programs. In this first book to address the application of CBA to social policy, experts examine ten of the most important policy early childhood development, elementary and secondary schools, health care for the disadvantaged, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, juvenile crime, prisoner reentry programs, housing assistance, work-incentive programs for the unemployed and employers, and welfare-to-work interventions. Each contributor discusses the applicability of CBA to actual programs, describing both proven and promising examples. The editors provide an introduction to cost-benefit analysis, assess the programs described, and propose a research agenda for promoting its more widespread application in social policy. Investing in the Disadvantaged considers how to face America's most urgent social needs with shrinking resources, showing how CBA can be used to inform policy choices that produce social value. This book applies cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) to social programs such as parole programs, job training programs for disadvantaged youth and community-based services for substance abuse and serious mental illnesses. Articles are also devoted to welfare-to-work and other incentives, and overviews are provided on state-of-the-art CBA practices that are financially sound This book examines the applicability of cost benefit analysis to social policy and programs. Policy areas such as health care for the disadvantaged, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction and juvenile crime are considered