R -- RESEARCH PROJECT AND PAPER

Notice Date

May 24, 2001

Contracting Office

National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions Management, Building 38A, Room B1N17, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20894

ZIP Code

20894

Solicitation Number

NLM 01-136/LTN

Response Due

June 13, 2001

Point of Contact

Liem T. Nguyen, Contract Specialist, 301-496-6546

E-Mail Address

click here to contact the contract specialist via (liem_nguyen@nlm.nih.gov)

Description

The National Institutes of Health, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) intends to negotiate on a sole-source basis with Kevin M. Murphy, Ph.D., and Robert H. Topel, Ph.D., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, under the authority 41 U.S.C. 253 (c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1(b)(1) for preparing and completing a research paper on "Economic Implications of the Gap in Health and Longevity Between Blacks and Whites". The goal of this project is to expand our understanding of the economic implications of racial and ethnic health disparities in the U.S. The focus of this project is to examine the economic significance of the differences in health outcomes between white and black Americans and how progress against disease will affect these two population groups. Dr. Kevin M. Murphy is a professor of Economics and Industrial Relations at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business as a Professor of Urban and Labor Economics. Dr. Murphy has a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1986 and his research areas include the empirical analysis of inequality, unemployment, and relative wages, and the economics of growth and development. He is also a faculty research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Dr. Robert H. Topel has a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1980 and his research focuses on labor markets, compensation and organizations, and industrial organization. Drs. Murphy and Topel recently published a paper on the economic value of historical and prospective improvements in health (Murphy and Topel, 2000). In this paper, they estimated that the improvement in longevity alone between 1970 and 1990 was worth (in present value terms) somewhere in the neighborhood of $57 trillion dollars to Americans and that over one half of this gain was due to progress against cardiovascular disease. They also found that prospective improvements against diseases have similarly large values. Hence, they found that even a reduction of as little as 1% in death rates from these diseases would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 billion dollars (more than 20 times the annual research budget of NIH). As they pointed out in their analysis, the value of progress against specific diseases have and will continue to increase over time as overall longevity increases, real incomes grow and the U.S. population ages. As for this required project, Drs. Murphy and Topel will use this same type of analysis to quantify the potential gains from increased longevity for blacks and then determine the extent to which differences in the levels and rates of improvements in longevity between racial groups can be accounted for by education, income, and patterns of health expenditures. Based on their expertise and experience in the field, OBSSR has determined that Drs. Murphy and Topel are the only known sources uniquely qualified to perform the required project. This procurement is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. This notice of intent is not a Request for competitive Quotations (RFQ), nor is an RFQ available. However, all proposals received within 15 days from the date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by OBSSR. *****

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010529/RSOL020.HTM (W-144 SN50N0A0)