2012 Survey of Forensic Economists: Their Methods, Estimates, and Perspectives

Abstract

Abstract In January 2012, 583 e-mail invitations to complete an electronic survey were sent to National Association of Forensic Economics (NAFE) members, with libraries and attorneys excluded. The return rate was 32.42%, which is almost 9 percentage points higher than the last paper survey in 2003. The survey covered many of the major topics included in earlier surveys, such as values of important economic variables (e.g., discount rates), trends in the practice of forensic economics (e.g., personal sources of earnings), and open-ended questions concerning ethics and reactions to the survey instrument. There were several new questions. Very few respondents have estimated damages in such categories as pain and suffering, companionship, and guidance; few add agency fees to household services estimates; and it is uncommon for respondents to estimate worklife expectancy differently for self-employed persons versus employees.