A Generalized Framework for CBA of Asbestos Bans with Case Study in Colombia
Abstract
Asbestos is a group of fibrous minerals that can cause serious cancers and other negative
health effects, usually decades after exposure. While the future health impacts of
today’s asbestos use have become clear over the past century, this industrially-valuable
substance is still commonly used in many countries for economic reasons, particularly
in low- and middle-income countries. We explore a general framework for conducting
cost-benefit analysis of banning asbestos on the whole country scale, then apply this
framework to the nation of Colombia. Through this case study application, we highlight
some of the challenges related to data quality and the need for proxy methods to estimate
important CBA components in data-limited environments. Our analyses indicate that
a full ban on asbestos would result in a net benefit for Colombian society and economy,
with the value of health benefits dependent upon the details of the selected policy
alternative. While avoided health impacts comprise much of the evaluated benefits,
significant financial benefits would likely also result, though these would be concentrated
among producers of asbestos substitute products. The limitations of our model and
available data suggest that more clearly quantifying the link between national asbestos
trade values, occupational exposures, and society-wide disease incidence would be
a valuable area of future research to prioritize. The general framework and our sensitivity
analysis of the applied case study model highlight important areas for future research
and data collection efforts to improve future CBA of asbestos bans.
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18442Citation
Gerbode, Christine; Sun, Guangji; Wang, Ai; & Wang, Xuhao (2019). A Generalized Framework for CBA of Asbestos Bans with Case Study in Colombia. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18442.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info