Publications

Publications are categorized as follows: journal articles; special series; books and book chapters; guidance documents; reports, working papers, and miscellany.

Note: The Review of Environmental Economics and Policy has very kindly provided a token that allows free download of our 2016 article, “Attention to Distribution in U.S. Regulatory Analysis,” for a limited time period.

Journal Articles

Glied, S. and L.A. Robinson. “Balancing Investments in Health Care and Social Determinants—The Need for Benefit-Cost Analysis,” JAMA Health Forum, 4(12): e235055, 2023.

Ferranna, M., L.A. Robinson, D. Cadarette, M.R. Eber, and D.E. Bloom. “The Benefits and Costs of U.S. Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates,” Risk Analysis, 43(10): 2053-2068, 2023. (Risk Analysis Best Paper award, 2023)

Robinson, L.A., M.R. Eber, and J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing COVID-19 Morbidity Risk Reductions,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 13(2): 247-268, 2022. (JBCA Article of the Month, August 2022.)

Robinson, L.A., R. Sullivan, J. Shogren, “Do the Benefits of COVID-19 Policies Exceed the Costs? Exploring Uncertainties in the Age-VSL Relationship,” Risk Analysis, 41(5): 761-770,  2021.

Buonocore, J.J., L.A. Robinson, J.K. Hammitt, and L. O’Keeffe, “Estimating the Potential Health Benefits of Air Quality Warnings,” Risk Analysis, 41(4): 645-660, 2021.

Robinson, L.A., W.J. Raich, J.K. Hammitt, and L. O’Keeffe. “Valuing Children’s Fatality Risk Reductions,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 10(2): 156-177, 2019.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, and L. O’Keeffe. “Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 10(S1): 15-50, 2019.

Chang, A.Y., Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, and S. Resch. “Economics in ‘Global Health 2035’: A Sensitivity Analysis of the Value of a Life Year Estimates,” Journal of Global Health, 7(1): 010401, 2017.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, A.Y. Chang, and S. Resch. “Understanding and Improving the One and Three Times GDP per Capita Cost-Effectiveness Thresholds,” Health Policy and Planning, 32: 141-145, 2017.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, and R. Zeckhauser. “Attention to Distribution in U.S. Regulatory Analysis,” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 10(2): 308-328, 2016.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing Reductions in Fatal Illness Risks: Implications of Recent Research,” Health Economics, 25(8): 1039-1052, 2016.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Research Synthesis and the Value per Statistical Life,” Risk Analysis, 35(6): 1086-1100, 2015.

Robinson, L.A. “Cost-Benefit Analysis and Well-Being Analysis?” Duke Law Journal, 62: 1717-1734, 2013.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Skills of the Trade: Valuing Health Risk Reductions in Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 4(1): 107-130, 2013.

Cropper, M., J.K. Hammitt, and L.A. Robinson. “Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions: Progress and Challenges,” Annual Review of Resource Economics (G. Rausser, ed.), 3: 313-336, 2011.

Robinson, L.A. and J.I. Levy. “The [R]Evolving Relationship Between Risk Assessment and Risk Management,” Risk Analysis, 31(9): 1334-1344, 2011.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Behavioral Economics and Regulatory Analysis,” Risk Analysis, 31(9): 1408-1422, 2011.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Behavioral Economics and the Conduct of Benefit-Cost Analysis: Towards Principles and Standards,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 2(2): Art. 5, 2011.

Hammitt, J.K. and L.A. Robinson. “The Income Elasticity of the Value per Statistical Life: Transferring Estimates Between High and Low Income Populations,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 2(1): Art. 1, 2011.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, J.E. Aldy, A. Krupnick, and J. Baxter. “Valuing the Risk of Death from Terrorist Attacks,” Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 7(1): Art. 14, 2010.

Robinson, L.A. “Valuing Lives, Valuing Risks, and Respecting Preferences in Regulatory Analysis,” Regulation & Governance, 3(3): 298-305, 2009.

Robinson, L.A. “How U.S. Government Agencies Value Mortality Risk Reductions,” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 1(2): 283-299, 2007.

Special Series

Hammitt, J.K. and L.A. Robinson. “Introduction to Special Issue on Risk Assessment, Economic Evaluation, and Decisions,” Risk Analysis, 41(4): 559-564, 2021.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, D.T. Jamison and D.G. Walker. “Conducting Benefit-Cost Analysis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Introduction to the Special Issue.” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 10(S1): 1-14, 2019.  (video montage) (JBCA Best Symposium award, 2019)

Robinson, L.A. “Estimating the Values of Mortality Risk Reductions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 8(2): 205-214, 2017. (

Robinson, L.A. “[Ir]rationality, Happiness, and Benefit-Cost Analysis: Introduction to the Special Issue,” Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 7(1): 1-11, 2016.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Introduction to the Special Series on Risk, Perception, and Response,” Risk Analysis, 35(10): 1766-1760, 2015.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Introduction to the Special Series on Research Synthesis: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach,” Risk Analysis, 35(6): 963-970, 2015.

Robinson, L.A. “Introduction to Part 1 of the Special Series on Risk Regulation,” Risk Analysis, 31(6): 881-883, 2011.

Robinson, L.A. “Introduction to Part 2 of the Special Series on Risk Regulation,” Risk Analysis, 31(9): 1330-1333, 2011.

Books and Book Chapters

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Global Health Priority-Setting: Beyond Cost-Effectiveness (O. Norheim et al., eds.). Oxford, UK and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Robinson, L.A., W.K. Viscusi, and R.J. Zeckhauser. “Efficient Warnings, Not ‘Wolf or Puppy’ Warnings,” The Future of Risk Management (H. Kunreuther, R.J. Meyer, E.O. Michel-Kerjan, eds., with E. Blum). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019.

Robinson, L.A. “Valuing Statistical Lives,” Teaching Benefit-Cost Analysis: Tools of the Trade (S. Farrow, ed.). Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018.

Robinson, L.A. “Toward Best Practices: Assessing the Effects of Regulation on Employment,” Does Regulation Kill Jobs? (C. Coglianese, A. Finkel, and C. Carrigan, eds.). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Behavioral Economics and the Conduct of Benefit-Cost Analysis: Towards Principles and Standards,” Principles and Standards for Benefit-Cost Analysis (S.O. Farrow and R.O. Zerbe, eds.), Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “The Benefit Transfer Approach: Valuing Health Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa,” The Globalization of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Policy (M.A. Livermore and R.L. Revesz, eds.), Oxford, UK and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing Health and Longevity in Regulatory Analysis: Current Issues and Challenges,” Handbook on the Politics of Regulation (D. Levi-Faur, ed.), Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011.

Miller, W., L.A. Robinson, R. Lawrence (eds.). Valuing Health for Regulatory Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006.

Guidance Documents

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Analysis, “Appendix D: Updating Value per Statistical Life (VSL) Estimates for Inflation and Changes in Real Income,” 2021.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, M. Cecchini, K. Chalkidou, K. Claxton, M. Cropper, P. Hoang-Vu Eozenou, D. de Ferranti, A.B. Deolalikar, F. Guanais, D.T. Jamison, S. Kwon, J.A. Lauer, L. O’Keeffe, D. Walker, D. Whittington, T. Wilkinson, D. Wilson, and B. Wong. Reference Case Guidelines for Benefit-Cost Analysis in Global Health and Development, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2019. Also available on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4015886.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Guidelines for Regulatory Impact Analysis, 2016.

Miller, W., L.A. Robinson, R. Lawrence (eds.). Valuing Health for Regulatory Cost-Effectiveness Analysis, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006.

Reports, Working Papers, and Miscellany

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Economic Evaluation for Health Priority-Setting: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Benefit-Cost Analysis Primer,” Disease Control Priorities, Fourth Edition, Working Paper 3, 2024. Also available on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4742082.

Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Review of BenMAP and Benefits Methods, 2024.

Robinson, L.A., M. Ferranna, D. Cadarette, M. Eber, and D.E. Bloom. “Mandating COVID-19 vaccination: The benefits and the costs,” VoxEU, 2022.

Ferranna, M., L.A. Robinson, D. Cadarette, M. Eber, and D.E. Bloom. “The Benefits and Costs of U.S. Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates,” NBER Working Paper No. 30339, 2022. Also available as IZA Discussion Paper No. 15472.

Haacker, M., K.L. Harris, G. Meyer-Rath, and L.A. Robinson. “Increased Health and Life Prospects and Their Economic Valuation,” Policy Brief #2, Economic Impact of HIV, 2021.

Robinson, L.A., M.R. Eber, J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing COVID-19 Mortality and Morbidity Risk Reductions,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2021.

Robinson, L.A. “Valuing Mortality Risks at Different Ages,” Dilemma #5, In deciding between funding different health programs with limited resources, what number of deaths of newborns is as intrinsically important to avoid as the deaths of 100 young adults?,  Rutgers Center for Population-Level Bioethics, 2021.

Robinson, L.A. “COVID-19 and Uncertainties in the Value Per Statistical Life,” The Regulatory Review, 2020.

Robinson, L.A. “On Balance: COVID-19 Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Value of Statistical Lives,” Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis, July 2020.

Robinson, L.A. “Benefit-Cost Analysis, Valuing Statistical Lives, and COVID-19,” Society for Risk Analysis Newsletter, June 2020.

Robinson, L.A. “Regulating Cost-Benefit Analysis,” The Regulatory Review, 2018.

Robinson, L.A. “Regulatory Analysis Under the Trump Administration,” The Regulatory Review, 2018.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing Nonfatal Health Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Guidelines for Benefit‐Cost Analysis Project, Working Paper No. 2, 2018. Also available on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4013166.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, and M.D. Adler. “Assessing the Distribution of Impacts in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Guidelines for Benefit‐Cost Analysis Project, Working Paper No. 3, 2018. Also available on SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014003.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, and L. O’Keeffe. “Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions in Global Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Guidelines for Benefit‐Cost Analysis Project, Working Paper No. 7, 2018. Also available on SSRN:  https://ssrn.com/abstract=4014594.

Baxter, J.R, L.A. Robinson, and J.K. Hammitt. “Valuing Time in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Regulatory Impact Analyses: Conceptual Framework and Best Practices,” 2017.

Robinson, L.A., D.B. Rein, and J.K. Hammitt. “Estimating Medical Costs for Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis: Conceptual Framework and Best Practices,” 2017.

Robinson, L.A., J.K. Hammitt, L. O’Keeffe, C. Munk, B. Patenaude, and F. Geng. “Benefit-Cost Analysis in Global Health and Development: Current Practices and Opportunities for Improvement (Scoping Report),” 2017.

Robinson, L.A., W.K. Viscusi, and R.J. Zeckhauser. “Consumer Warning Labels Aren’t Working,” Harvard Business Review, 2016.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “Are We Making Progress in Valuing Health and Longevity in Regulatory Analysis?,” The Regulatory Review, 2016.

Robinson, L.A., J.R. Baxter, and J.K. Hammitt. “Developing Guidance for Regulatory Analysis: Challenges and Opportunities,” prepared for the Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting, 2015.

Baxter, J.R., L.A. Robinson, and J.K. Hammitt. “Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis,” Paper Series: Regulatory Reform in the 21st Century City, an Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, 2015.

Robinson, L.A. “Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Cities,” Paper Series: Regulatory Reform in the 21st Century City, an Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, 2015.

Robinson, L.A. “Toward Best Practices: Assessing the Effects of Regulation on Employment,” Regulatory Policy Program Working Paper RPP-2013-02, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School, 2013.

Robinson, L.A. and J.K. Hammitt. “New Recommendations for Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions,” The Regulatory Review, 2011.

Robinson, L.A. “Book Review: Reforming Regulatory Impact Analysis, edited by W. Harrington, L. Heinzerling, and R.D. Morgenstern,” Risk Analysis, 29(10): 1489-1490, 2009.

Robinson, L.A. “New Recommendations for Valuing Health Outcomes,” AERE Newsletter, 26(2): 30-34, November 2006.