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Risky Transportation Choices and the Value of a Statistical Life

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  • Gianmarco León
  • Edward Miguel

Abstract

This paper exploits an unusual transportation setting to generate some of the first revealed preference value of a statistical life (VSL) estimates from a low-income setting. We estimate the trade-offs individuals are willing to make between mortality risk and cost as they travel to and from the international airport in Sierra Leone. The setting and original dataset allow us to address some typical omitted variable concerns, and also to compare VSL estimates for travelers from different countries, all facing the same choice situation. The average VSL estimate for African travelers in the sample is US$ 577,000 compared to US$ 924,000 for non-Africans.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianmarco León & Edward Miguel, 2017. "Risky Transportation Choices and the Value of a Statistical Life," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 202-228, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:9:y:2017:i:1:p:202-28
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20160140
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    Cited by:

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    2. Antonio Filippin & Marco Mantovani, 2024. "Moral Preferences over Health-Wealth Trade-offs," Working Papers 531, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics.
    3. Yao Yao, 2022. "Fertility and HIV Risk in Africa," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 109-133, July.
    4. Paul H. Jung & Jean-Claude Thill & Luis Armando Galvis-Aponte, 2021. "State Failure, Violence, and Trade: Dangerous Trade Routes in Colombia," Documentos de trabajo sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 303, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    5. Shaun Da Costa, 2023. "Estimating the value of life expectancy gains in Tanzania using the life satisfaction and model based approaches," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1040-1063, May.
    6. Shaun Da Costa, 2021. "Estimating the welfare gains from antiretroviral therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2101, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    7. Hannes Mueller & Christopher Rauh & Alessandro Ruggieri, 2022. "Dynamic Early Warning and Action Model," Working Papers 1355, Barcelona School of Economics.
    8. Shaun M. Da Costa, 2020. "The impact of the Ebola crisis on mortality and welfare in Liberia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(12), pages 1517-1532, December.
    9. Da Costa, Shaun, 2023. "Estimating the welfare gains from anti-retroviral therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    10. Jonathan M. Lee & Laura O. Taylor, 2019. "Randomized Safety Inspections and Risk Exposure on the Job: Quasi-experimental Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 350-374, November.
    11. Agamoni Majumder & S. Madheswaran, 2020. "Compensation for Occupational Risk and Valuation of Statistical Life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 967-989, June.
    12. Castañeda Dower, Paul & Markevich, Andrei & Weber, Shlomo, 2021. "The value of a statistical life in a dictatorship: Evidence from Stalin," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Jeremy Barofsky & Stephen D. Younger, 2019. "The Effect of Government Health Expenditure on the Income Distribution: A Comparison of Valuation Methods in Ghana," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 66, Tulane University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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