Forensic Economics and the Wrongful Death of a Household Producer: Current Practices, Methodological Biases and Alternative Solutions of Losses

. A new frontier in forensic economics has emerged: expert testimony on the loss of earning capacity due to the wrongful death of a household producer not in the labor force. Forensic economics—the application of economic analysis by an expert witness—in this area is at an early stage of development. While several methods have been developed for estimating the value of household production, one method, in negligence cases, dominates in the courtroom: replacement cost. Reliance upon a single methodology seems unwise in light of the newness and complexity of research in the area of household production. There are promising alternative methods which could be used. Opportunity cost, family profile and value of service flows methodologies are good candidates. Potentially, the use of alternative methodologies could help provide a consistency check on the reasonableness of any one particular methodology. Presently, several constraints frustrate the task of refining the state of forensic economics in this area. However, progress can be made by, among other things, subjecting forensic economics in these cases to more thorough unbaised professional review such as is common in an older area, antitrust cases.