We’ve recently been writing about the shortcomings of formal cost-effectiveness estimation (i.e., trying to estimate how much good, as measured in lives saved, DALYs or other units, is accomplished per dollar spent). After conceptually arguing that cost-effectiveness estimates can’t be taken literally when they are not robust, we found major problems in one of the…
The GiveWell Blog
All Cost-effectiveness analysis Posts
Some considerations against more investment in cost-effectiveness estimates
When we started GiveWell, we were very interested in cost-effectiveness estimates: calculations aiming to determine, for example, the “cost per life saved” or “cost per DALY saved” of a charity or program. Over time, we’ve found ourselves putting less weight on these calculations, because we’ve been finding that these estimates tend to be extremely rough…
Errors in DCP2 cost-effectiveness estimate for deworming
Two notes on this post: This post discusses flaws in a particular published cost-effectiveness estimate for deworming. It should not be taken as a general argument against deworming as a promising intervention, and it does not address various other publications on deworming including the 2003 paper by Edward Miguel and Michael Kremer. Prior to publication,…
Why we can’t take expected value estimates literally (even when they’re unbiased)
While some people feel that GiveWell puts too much emphasis on the measurable and quantifiable, there are others who go further than we do in quantification, and justify their giving (or other) decisions based on fully explicit expected-value formulas. The latter group tends to critique us – or at least disagree with us – based…
Cost-effectiveness estimates: Inside the sausage factory
We’ve long had mixed feelings about cost-effectiveness estimates of charitable programs, i.e., attempts to figure out “how much good is accomplished per dollar donated.” The advantages of these estimates are obvious. If you can calculate that program A can help much more people – with the same funds, and in the same terms – than…