OBJECTIVES: Transport economics and health economics have chosen different approaches to evaluate interventions, even though both aim to improve health and safety. The objective of this study is to identify the main features of the transport economics model that differs from the health economic model.

METHODS: A targeted review of examples of the application of the transport economic model was performed to describe the development, implementation and consequences of the framework applied.

RESULTS: The transport economic framework relies on a broad, societal perspective resulting in a wide spectrum of value attributes. Prices for these are estimated using a variety of methods, including willingness-to-pay (WTP) to derive the value of non-market goods and services such as time savings and risk reductions. Prices and methods are regularly revised and updated when new theoretical or empirical evidence appears. Application of the framework reveals that preferences for non-market value attributes (including risk preferences) may have a significant impact on the outcome of an evaluation. Moreover, the adoption of a broad societal perspective in the valuation of safety and health gain has not been in conflict with efforts for cost containment when allocating resources for road construction projects.

CONCLUSIONS: The framework of transport economics provides several lessons that could help shape the future of health economics. First, there are established and validated methods to derive prices for non-market goods and services such as health and risk preferences. Secondly, putting a value on all value attributes of relevance from a societal perspective could impact what interventions are seen as cost effective. Finally, allowing for the total value of an intervention to be estimated does not need to compromise cost containment.