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Washington State Institute for Public Policy

Benefit-Cost Results

Since the 1990s, the Washington State legislature has directed WSIPP to identify “evidence-based” policies. The goal is to provide Washington policymakers and budget writers with a list of well-researched public policies that can, with a high degree of certainty, lead to better statewide outcomes coupled with a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

Research Approach. WSIPP has developed a three-step process to draw conclusions about what works and what does not to achieve particular outcomes of legislative interest. First, we systematically assess all high-quality studies from the United States and elsewhere to identify policy options that have been tested and found to achieve improvements in outcomes. Second, we determine how much it would cost Washington taxpayers to produce the results found in Step 1, and calculate how much it would be worth to people in Washington State to achieve the improved outcome. That is, in dollars and cents terms, we compare the benefits and costs of each policy option. It is important to note that the benefit-cost estimates pertain specifically to Washington State; results will vary from state to state. Third, we assess the risk in the estimates to determine the odds that a particular policy option will at least break even. ...show more

WSIPP acknowledges the MacArthur Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts that have helped fund some of the research reported on this page.

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Overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model

Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes

For details on our benefit-cost methods, contact Heather Grob or download our Technical Documentation.

Latest Results. The tables on this webpage present our current findings for a variety of public policy topics. Items on these tables are updated periodically as new information becomes available. Interested readers can find more information by clicking each entry in the tables.



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Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2019

Open all programs PDF

Current estimates replace old estimates. Numbers will change over time as a result of model inputs and monetization methods.

Adult Criminal Justice

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For questions on benefit-cost results relating to Adult Criminal Justice, contact Paige Wanner.
Program name
(click on the program name for more detail)
Date of last literature review
Total benefits
Taxpayer benefits
Non-taxpayer benefits
Costs
Benefits minus costs (net present value)
Benefit to cost ratio
Chance benefits will exceed costs
Aug. 2016 $46,675 $13,463 $33,212 ($2,563) $44,112 $18.21 89 %
Apr. 2012 $73,398 $25,097 $48,302 ($38,600) $34,798 $1.90 97 %
Nov. 2016 $30,073 $7,299 $22,774 ($4,117) $25,956 $7.30 92 %
Jul. 2016 $25,972 $7,084 $18,889 ($1,316) $24,657 $19.74 100 %
Nov. 2016 $23,912 $7,113 $16,799 ($1,714) $22,198 $13.95 99 %
Jul. 2016 $18,801 $5,210 $13,591 ($1,575) $17,226 $11.94 98 %
Nov. 2016 $15,801 $4,600 $11,201 $401 $16,202 n/a 99 %
Dec. 2014 $14,558 $4,114 $10,443 $1,198 $15,756 n/a 93 %
Oct. 2016 $18,144 $5,260 $12,884 ($3,266) $14,878 $5.56 96 %
Dec. 2016 $13,900 $4,113 $9,787 ($856) $13,045 $16.25 100 %
Aug. 2016 $17,795 $5,422 $12,373 ($5,182) $12,613 $3.43 95 %
Nov. 2016 $13,762 $3,840 $9,921 ($1,358) $12,403 $10.13 98 %
Nov. 2016 $17,418 $5,158 $12,259 ($5,364) $12,053 $3.25 66 %
Jul. 2016 $12,680 $3,547 $9,133 ($1,316) $11,364 $9.64 98 %
Nov. 2016 $13,047 $3,992 $9,056 ($1,714) $11,334 $7.61 71 %
Nov. 2016 $11,080 $3,051 $8,029 ($788) $10,291 $14.05 99 %
Nov. 2016 $10,864 $3,235 $7,629 ($810) $10,055 $13.42 100 %
Dec. 2014 $8,679 $2,149 $6,531 $1,198 $9,878 n/a 100 %
Jan. 2017 $9,703 $2,672 $7,031 $71 $9,775 n/a 64 %
Nov. 2016 $11,796 $3,131 $8,665 ($2,315) $9,481 $5.09 65 %
Aug. 2016 $14,620 $5,132 $9,488 ($5,182) $9,438 $2.82 100 %
Aug. 2016 $24,014 $8,558 $15,456 ($15,285) $8,729 $1.57 90 %
Dec. 2016 $10,036 $3,085 $6,951 ($1,444) $8,592 $6.95 98 %
Dec. 2016 $9,270 $2,866 $6,404 ($1,470) $7,800 $6.31 97 %
Nov. 2016 $10,810 $3,247 $7,562 ($3,985) $6,825 $2.71 59 %
Nov. 2016 $6,634 $1,653 $4,980 ($406) $6,228 $16.36 59 %
Jul. 2016 $6,480 $1,791 $4,689 ($511) $5,969 $12.68 100 %
Aug. 2016 $8,006 $2,601 $5,405 ($2,112) $5,895 $3.79 92 %
Jul. 2016 $4,483 $1,122 $3,362 $530 $5,013 n/a 99 %
Mar. 2017 $4,114 $1,171 $2,943 $584 $4,698 n/a 87 %
Oct. 2016 $8,287 $2,984 $5,303 ($4,197) $4,090 $1.97 76 %
Aug. 2016 $9,366 $3,560 $5,806 ($5,657) $3,709 $1.66 59 %
Jan. 2017 $4,169 $1,235 $2,934 ($2,546) $1,623 $1.64 59 %
Jan. 2017 $6,226 $1,886 $4,340 ($4,817) $1,409 $1.29 62 %
Feb. 2017 $2,391 $911 $1,480 ($1,166) $1,225 $2.05 56 %
Mar. 2017 $431 ($23) $455 $726 $1,158 n/a 51 %
Dec. 2016 $438 $142 $296 ($113) $325 $3.88 53 %
Aug. 2016 $1,320 $676 $644 ($2,069) ($749) $0.64 41 %
Nov. 2016 ($1,942) ($399) ($1,543) ($369) ($2,311) ($5.27) 32 %
Nov. 2016 ($1,637) ($121) ($1,517) ($937) ($2,574) ($1.75) 47 %
Dec. 2016 ($1,711) ($295) ($1,417) ($1,206) ($2,917) ($1.42) 35 %
Aug. 2016 $4,609 $2,676 $1,933 ($8,246) ($3,638) $0.56 19 %
Aug. 2014 ($2,242) ($424) ($1,817) ($1,525) ($3,767) ($1.47) 24 %
Dec. 2016 ($399) $604 ($1,004) ($5,346) ($5,746) ($0.07) 28 %
Aug. 2016 $1,184 $2,086 ($902) ($12,168) ($10,984) $0.10 3 %
Aug. 2016 ($6,327) ($509) ($5,818) ($8,823) ($15,150) ($0.72) 0 %
Mar. 2017 ($13,787) ($1,998) ($11,790) ($5,030) ($18,817) ($2.74) 24 %
Mar. 2021 ($2,939) $1,083 ($4,022) ($17,437) ($20,376) ($0.17) 0 %
Apr. 2021 ($9,168) $216 ($9,383) ($19,599) ($28,766) ($0.47) 0 %
Policy
Program name
(click on the program name for more detail)
Date of last literature review
Total benefits
Taxpayer benefits
Non-taxpayer benefits
Costs
Benefits minus costs (net present value)
Benefit to cost ratio
Chance benefits will exceed costs
Oct. 2013 ($4,523) ($888) ($3,636) $6,185 $1,661 n/a 68 %
Oct. 2013 ($15,984) ($2,559) ($13,425) $6,185 ($9,799) n/a 8 %
Oct. 2013 ($34,252) ($4,936) ($29,316) $6,185 ($28,068) n/a 0 %
Police (results per-officer)
Program name
(click on the program name for more detail)
Date of last literature review
Total benefits
Taxpayer benefits
Non-taxpayer benefits
Costs
Benefits minus costs (net present value)
Benefit to cost ratio
Chance benefits will exceed costs
Oct. 2013 $540,287 $70,181 $470,106 ($101,608) $438,679 $5.32 100 %
Oct. 2013 $470,312 $60,618 $409,694 ($96,769) $373,543 $4.86 100 %
To view details of all Adult Criminal Justice programs in a single pdf, click here.

Other Adult Criminal Justice topics reviewed; benefit-cost results not yet available:

Program name
(click on the program name for more detail)
Date of last literature review Notes
Buprenorphine for opioid use disorder for adults post-release
Mar. 2021 Click for meta-analytic results
Civil legal aid
Mar. 2017 Click for meta-analytic results
Day fines
Feb. 2017 Click for meta-analytic results
Deferred prosecution of DUI offenses
Mar. 2017 Click for meta-analytic results
Dialectical behavior therapy
Sep. 2015 Click for meta-analytic results
Domestic violence perpetrator treatment (Non-Duluth models)
Aug. 2014 Click for meta-analytic results
Ignition interlock devices for alcohol-related offenses
Mar. 2014 Click for meta-analytic results
Legal financial obligation repayment interventions
Jan. 2017 Click for meta-analytic results
Mandatory arrest for domestic violence NEW
Jun. 2022 Click for meta-analytic results
Parenting programs (for incarcerated parents)
Aug. 2016 Click for meta-analytic results
Revocation reduction programs
Mar. 2017 Click for meta-analytic results
Therapeutic communities for individuals with personality disorders
Dec. 2016 Click for meta-analytic results
Banning criminal record check boxes in hiring
Nov. 2016 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Cautioning for cannabis offenses
Mar. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Child support barriers
Mar. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Mentoring programs
Mar. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Pretrial detention
Feb. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Project Sentry
Mar. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
State ID provision
Mar. 2017 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Veteran's courts
Jul. 2016 No rigorous evaluation measuring outcome of interest.
Click to expand