The Income-Based Human Capital Valuation Methods in Public Health Economics Used by Forensic Economics

Abstract This paper surveys the development of income-based human capital methods in public health economics which, with the exception of worklife expectancy, forms the methodological core of forensic economics. The main differences in the application of human capital valuation between the two disciplines are the use of statistical population averages and gross costs in public health economics and individual-specific estimates and net costs in forensic economics. The paper provides examples of the public health economics application of the human capital approach in cost-of-illness (COI) analyses of disease or injury, disability, and premature mortality with specific discussion of cerebral palsy.