Ultimate Writer
6
ECON 416 FALL 2018: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE SEPTEMBER 18th, 2019 BY THE START OF CLASS (4:30 PM)
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Name |
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Last 3 digits of Student No. |
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Honor Code: I guarantee that all the answers in this assignment, except those for the question specifically marked as a group discussion question, are entirely my own work. I have cited any outside sources that I used to create these answers in APA style.
Name or Signature for Honor Code: ______________________________________________
The table below is for TA use only.
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1 |
a |
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/12 |
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b |
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/4 |
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c |
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/4 |
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d |
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/4 |
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2 |
a |
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/6 |
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b |
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/6 |
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Total |
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/36 |
1. [Critique] Read the following paper:
Grote, N.K., Simon, G.E., Russo, J., Lohr, M.J., Carson, K. & Katon, W. (2017). Incremental Benefit-Cost of MOMCare: Collaborative Care for Perinatal Depression Among Economically Disadvantaged Women. Psychiatric Services, 68(11), 1164 – 1171. doi: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600411
You can access it for free in two ways:
i) Copy-paste the title into the main search bar at https://www.uvic.ca/library/index.php and hit ‘Search’. The top search result will be the correct one. Click on ‘full text online’ and follow the instructions to access the paper. This method works for all articles we’ll be using in the course.
ii) Connect to UVic either directly (a campus computer) or using a UVic VPN. Click on the doi link in the citation. Since the site sees a UVic connection, you should have access: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600411
a. (12 marks) Write a 3-2-1 report on the article using the form on the course web site.
Next, Since the article never actually calculates the benefit-cost ratios for the two programs it studies, you’re going to do that for them. The information you need is taken from Table 2 in the paper and summarized in the table below, for convenience. You will use this information for parts b, c and d.
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Program |
No PTSD |
PTSD |
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DFD |
Cost |
DFD |
Cost |
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MSS-Plus |
334 |
$ 570 |
242 |
$ 776 |
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MOMCare |
347 |
$1,737 |
310 |
$2,088 |
‘DFD’ stands for ‘Depression-Free Days’ and is the main benefit of each treatment. The article says that each Depression-Free Day is worth $20 .
b. Calculate the following four Benefit-Cost Ratios (BCR), and show your work. Make your BCR accurate to two decimal places (e.g. 3.33 if it’s 10/3):
MSS-Plus (No PTSD): BCR = __________________
MOMCare (No PTSD): BCR = __________________
MSS-Plus (PTSD): BCR = __________________
MOMCare (PTSD): BCR = __________________
Work:
c. (4 marks) Calculate the following Incremental Benefit-Cost Ratios (IBCR). Make your IBCR accurate to two decimal places.
IBCR (MOMCare – MSS-Plus) (No PTSD): IBCR = __________________
IBCR (MOMCare – MSS-Plus) ( PTSD): IBCR = __________________
Work:
d. (4 marks) The article concludes that MOMCare is preferred to MSS-Plus in cases where the patients suffer from depression AND PTSD. In its analysis, the article assumed that one DND is worth $20, while admitting “[t]he economic value of an additional day free of depression is not clearly delineated and may vary across demographic groups. Previous studies have presumed a value of $15 to $25 for each additional DFD”. (p. 1168).
Given your answers for part b. and part c., and that the value of a DFD may range between (at least) $15 and $25, do you believe their conclusion is correct? Briefly explain your reasoning in the space below, and show your work if you performed any additional calculations.
Is the paper correct in concluding that MOMCare is preferred to MSS-Plus in cases where the patients suffer from depression AND PTSD? (‘Partly correct’ or ‘Partly incorrect’ are also valid answers, if you back them up with an argument.)
Additional calculations (you may add more pages for math if needed, but keep your explanation to the lined space provided above):
2. [Theory] The table below lists the costs and benefits of five mutually exclusive projects.
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Project |
Costs |
Benefits |
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A |
9 |
12 |
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B |
6 |
5 |
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C |
3 |
4 |
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D |
9 |
11 |
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E |
4 |
6 |
a. (6 marks) Calculate the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of each project:
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Project |
BCR |
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A |
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B |
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C |
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D |
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E |
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b. (6 marks) Use incremental benefit-cost analysis to determine the preferred project. Show your work.
The preferred project is Project ___________