Economic Analyses: Social Work Research Applications

Economic evaluation is a research and decision making tool that can add scientific, potentially transparent, and well-structured information to the social work resource allocation process. To date, relatively little formal economic evaluation has been done within social work research. The term economic evaluation is generally used to refer to cost- effectiveness or cost-benefit analysis when articles appear in the peer- reviewed literature. The results can be interpreted pragmatically as “which alternative program gives the most bang for the buck.” However, in spite of the relatively simple colloquialism, the terminology in economic evaluation can be confusing to social workers, and social work researchers sometimes confuse the terms. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses can be powerful tools, but to be used correctly, effectively, and efficiently, the strengths and weaknesses of these tools must be understood.