Conceptual Issues in Developing Return on Investment Estimates of Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

The Journal of Rehabilitation Administration, 40(1), 23-34, 2019

30 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2020

See all articles by Christopher M. Clapp

Christopher M. Clapp

University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy

John V. Pepper

University of Virginia - Department of Economics

Robert M. Schmidt

University of Richmond

Steven N. Stern

Stony Brooke University

Date Written: September 1, 2019

Abstract

We provide an overview of the basic conceptual issues involved in estimating the return on investment (ROI) of state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs. Our aim is to highlight some of the key issues in ROI evaluations, especially those associated with estimating the benefits and costs of VR. Finally, we discuss different ways of implementing ROI calculations and suggest that rate of return type analysis is appealing for VR evaluations where there is no widely accepted discount rate.

Keywords: Return on investment (ROI), rate of return (ROR), vocational rehabilitation, benefit-cost analysis, discount rates, alternative evaluation designs, long-run benefits

JEL Classification: C18, H51, J24

Suggested Citation

Clapp, Christopher and Pepper, John V. and Schmidt, Robert M. and Stern, Steven N., Conceptual Issues in Developing Return on Investment Estimates of Vocational Rehabilitation Programs (September 1, 2019). The Journal of Rehabilitation Administration, 40(1), 23-34, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3531261

Christopher Clapp (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy ( email )

1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://chrisclapp.org/

John V. Pepper

University of Virginia - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 400182
114 Rouss Hall
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4182
United States
804-924-3402 (Phone)
804-982-2904 (Fax)

Robert M. Schmidt

University of Richmond ( email )

Richmond, VA 23173
United States

Steven N. Stern

Stony Brooke University ( email )

Melville Library N4004
Stony Brook, NY 11794-3384
United States

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