Analytic issues for estimating the benefits and costs of substance abuse prevention
The benefits of averting drug use and abuse may outweigh the costs of
prevention. Economic evaluation studies can help assess whether
current prevention expenses are justified by future cost savings and
health improvements. These studies can assist policymakers in
judging whether particular prevention programs should be
implemented at all.
Citation
Zarkin, G. A., & Hubbard, R. L. (1998). Analytic issues for estimating the benefits and costs of substance abuse prevention. In Cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness research of drug abuse prevention: Implications for programming and policy (pp. 141-160). (NIDA Research Monograph; No. 176). National Institute on Drug Abuse.