Methodological aspects in valuing loss of production and informal care in cost-of-illness studies

Estimating costs of illness in social terms requires the consideration of the loss of production costs due to absence from work. Costs related to informal care should also be counted. Costs due to the loss of production are valued through the human capital method and the frictional costs method. Opportunity cost and proxy good methods are utilized for the informal care. Our study highlights practical issues about the use of a variety of methods and points out their main limits.