Investing in the Disadvantaged
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EXPLORE THIS TITLE DescriptionTable of Contents Reviews |
 304 pp., 6 x 9 Paperback ISBN: 9781589012578 (1589012577) eBook ISBN: 9781589015999 March 2009 LC: 2008029502 American Governance and Public Policy series |
Investing in the Disadvantaged
Assessing the Benefits and Costs of Social Policies
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. David L. Weimer is professor of public affairs and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. Aidan R. Vining is CNABS Professor of Business and Government Relations at Simon Fraser University. David L. Weimer and Aidan R. Vining are coauthors of Policy Analysis: Concepts and Practice, now in its fourth edition. Gerard W. Boychuk, Karen Mossberger, and Mark C. Rom, Series Editors
Reviews
"Provides an authoritative guide to evidence-based social policy by some of the leading scholars in the field. For anyone who wants to know what works, what's worthwhile, and what research would have the greatest payoff, this book has benefits far exceeding the cost."—Philip Cook, ITT/Sanford Professor of Public Policy, Duke University "This book sets out ideas about the kinds of information that could and should be available when major social policy decisions are being made. But, more than that, it provides a broad review of what is available now and of what might be desired in the short and long run. The logic is compelling."—Eric Hanushek, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University "This volume contributes to the new burst of interest in the topic of cost-benefit analysis, especially as applied to social policies. The editors have chosen outstanding authors, and their contributions are both enlightening and provocative. The book makes a major contribution toward furthering the application of sound analysis across [a] range of options."—Robert Haveman, professor, Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison Table of Contents Foreword Michael A. Stegman Preface 1. Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Social Policies Aidan R. Vining and David L. Weimer 2. Early Childhood Interventions Barbara Wolfe and Nathan Tefft 3. Elementary and Secondary Schooling Clive R. Belfield 4. Health Care for Disadvantaged Populations David J. Vanness 5. Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses Mark S. Salzer 6. Illicit Substance Abuse and Addiction Jonathan P. Caulkins 7. Juvenile Crime Interventions Jeffrey A. Butts and John K. Roman 8. Prisoner Reentry Programming John K. Roman and Christy Visher 9. Housing Assistance to Promote Human Capital Lance Freeman 10. Encouraging Work Robert Lerman 11. Next Steps in Welfare-to-Work Michael Wiseman 12. Welfare-to-Work and Work-Incentive Programs David Greenberg 13. Overview of the State-of-the-Art of CBA in Social Policy Aidan R. Vining and David L. Weimer 14. Agenda for Promoting and Improving the Use of CBA in Social Policy David L. Weimer and Aidan R. Vining List of Contributors Index |
