The Cost of Cost Studies

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dc.contributor.authorCrampton, E.
dc.contributor.authorBurgess, M.
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, B.
dc.date.accessioned2011-09-05T21:54:21Z
dc.date.available2011-09-05T21:54:21Z
dc.date.issued2011en
dc.descriptionRePEc Working Paper series: No. 29/2011en
dc.description.abstractWe review methods and assess the policy influence of a series of publicly-funded Cost of Illness studies, mostly published since 1990. Our analysis shows that headline cost estimates, including the influential paper by Collins and Lapsley (2008), depend on an incorrect procedure for incorporating real world imperfections in consumer information and rationality, producing a substantial over-estimate of costs. Other errors further inflate these estimates, resulting in headline costs that are unrelated to either total economic welfare or GDP and therefore of no policy relevance. Counting only external, policy-relevant costs not only deflates overall figures substantially but also results in rank order changes among cost categories. Despite this, Cost of Illness studies appear effective in mobilizing public opinion towards increased regulation and taxation that is not justified by an expected increase in economic welfare: this is the cost of cost studies.en
dc.identifier.citationCrampton, E., Burgess, M., Taylor, B. (2011) The Cost of Cost Studies. Department of Economics and Finance. 52pp..en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/5414
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCollege of Business and Economicsen
dc.publisherUniversity of Canterbury. Department of Economics and Financeen
dc.rights.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651en
dc.subjectcosts and benefits of alcohol usageen
dc.subjectalcohol policyen
dc.subjectAustraliaen
dc.subjectNew Zealanden
dc.subjectadequacy of consultancy reportsen
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::38 - Economics::3801 - Applied economics::380119 - Welfare economicsen
dc.titleThe Cost of Cost Studiesen
dc.typeDiscussion / Working Papers
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