Harold Alderman of the World Bank estimates the payback for investments in iodizing salt to return between $12 and $30 for every dollar invested. The study was just published in the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.
Iodizing salt was judged superior to supplementing vitamin A and zinc, doing general community nutrition education or doing iron fortification.

Alderman laments the fact that "economic investments often fail to follow from evidence...Quite possibly economists believe that rapid economic growth will, by itself, will eliminate undernutrition. If so, they are mistaken in that belief." Growth, he documents has only a "modest impact."

Investment patterns are politically-determined and over-invest in HIV/AIDS and injuries "while non-communicable disease as well as maternal and perinatal health and nutrition along with non HIV/AIDS communicable diseases receive less than they should according to calculated health benefits.