Both cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) are useful tools for program evaluation. Cost-effectiveness analysis is a technique that relates the costs of a program to its key outcomes or benefits. Cost benefit analysis takes that process one step further, attempting to compare costs with the dollar value of all (or most) of a program’s many benefits. This chapter provides an overview of both types of analyses, highlighting the inherent challenges in estimating and calculating program costs and benefits. The discussion is organized around practical steps that are common to both tools, highlighting differences as they arise. A simple description of each approach is presented. The focus is on social (or economic) cost-benefit and cost effectiveness analyses, rather than financial analyses. The chapter illustrates the ten-step process of the evaluation of a program aimed to reduce the incidence of early high school dropouts, aimed at at-risk students.
- August 10, 2015
- Stephanie Riegg Cellini, James Edwin Kee
- Book