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Measuring the Value of a Statistical Life: Problems and Prospects

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  • Orley Ashenfelter

Abstract

Tradeoffs between monetary wealth and fatal safety risks are summarised in the value of a statistical life (VSL), a measure that is widely used for the evaluation of public policies in medicine, the environment, and transportation safety. This article demonstrates the widespread use of this concept and summarises the major issues, both theoretical and empirical, that must be confronted in order to provide a credible estimate of a VSL. The article concludes with an application of these issues to a particular study of speed limits and highway safety. Copyright 2006 Royal Economic Society.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Royal Economic Society in its journal The Economic Journal.

Volume (Year): 116 (2006)
Issue (Month): 510 (03)
Pages: C10-C23

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Handle: RePEc:ecj:econjl:v:116:y:2006:i:510:p:c10-c23

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References

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  1. Glenn C. Blomquist, 2003. "Self Protection and Averting Behavior, Values of Statistical Lives, and Benefit Cost Analysis of Environmental Policy," NCEE Working Paper Series 200302, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Mar 2003.
  2. Black, Dan A & Kniesner, Thomas J, 2003. " On the Measurement of Job Risk in Hedonic Wage Models," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 205-20, December.
  3. Richard Thaler & Sherwin Rosen, 1976. "The Value of Saving a Life: Evidence from the Labor Market," NBER Chapters, in: Household Production and Consumption, pages 265-302 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Ashenfelter, Orley & Greenstone, Michael, 2003. "Using Mandated Speed Limits to Measure the Value of a Statistical Life," Working paper 86, Regulation2point0.
  5. Arianne de Blaeij & Raymond J.G.M. Florax & Piet Rietveld & Erik T. Verhoef, 2000. "The Value of Statistical Life in Road Safety: A Meta-Analysis," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 00-089/3, Tinbergen Institute.
  6. Hersch, Joni, 1998. "Compensating Differentials for Gender-Specific Job Injury Risks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 598-627, June.
  7. Heckman, James J, 1979. "Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(1), pages 153-61, January.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Andreas Kuhn & Oliver Ruf, 2009. "The Value of a Statistical Injury: New Evidence from the Swiss Labor Market," NRN working papers 2009-15, The Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
  2. Thomas J. Kniesner & W. Kip Viscusi & Christopher Woock & James P. Ziliak, 2006. "Pinning Down the Value of Statistical Life," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 85, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University.
  3. Rohlfs, Chris & Sullivan, Ryan & Kniesner, Thomas J., 2012. "New Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life Using Air Bag Regulations as a Quasi-Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 6994, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  4. Julia Fimpel & Michael Stolpe, 2006. "The Welfare Costs of HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe: An Empirical Assessment Using the Economic Value-of-Life Approach," Kiel Working Papers 1297, Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
  5. François Bellavance & Georges Dionne & Martin Lebeau, 2006. "The Value of a Statistical Life: a Meta-Analysis with a Mixed Effects Regression Model," Cahiers de recherche 0646, CIRPEE.
  6. Martinez Perez, Jorge Eduardo & Mendez Martinez, Ildefonso, 2008. "¿Qué podemos saber sobre el Valor Estadístico de la Vida en España utilizando datos laborales?," MPRA Paper 11165, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  7. Kuhn, Michael & Wrzaczek, Stefan & Oeppen, Jim, 2010. "Recognizing progeny in the value of life," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 17-21, April.
  8. Anna Alberini & Stefania Tonin & Margherita Turvani & Aline Chiabai, 2007. "Paying for permanence: Public preferences for contaminated site cleanup," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 155-178, April.
  9. Aloys Prinz & Björn Bünger, . "Living in a material world: Happy Income and Happy Life Years," Working Papers 200116, Institute of Spatial and Housing Economics, Munster Universitary.
  10. Jan Rouwendal & Arianne de Blaeij & Piet Rietveld & Erik Verhoef, 2008. "The Information Content of a Stated Choice Experiment," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 08-053/3, Tinbergen Institute.
  11. Hensher, David A. & Rose, John M. & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios & Rizzi, Luis I., 2009. "Estimating the willingness to pay and value of risk reduction for car occupants in the road environment," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 692-707, August.

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