Abstract
Cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis is a tool that can be used by public policy analysts to make social resource allocations when the private market fails to do so. A definition and discussion of the technique and its applications and limitations are presented along with case studies of cost-benefit analysis applied in the mental health field. The author also provides a brief, annotated bibliography of recent articles and papers on cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis.
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Additional information
Richard Frank is an economist for the Division of Biometry and Epidemiology, National Institute of Mental Health. Reprint requests should be addressed to him at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
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Frank, R. Cost-benefit analysis in mental health services: A review of the literature. Administration in Mental Health 8, 161–176 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00823813
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00823813