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The value of a statistical life in a dictatorship: Evidence from Stalin

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  • Castañeda Dower, Paul
  • Markevich, Andrei
  • Weber, Shlomo

Abstract

We examine the value of a statistical life of a citizen in the interwar Soviet Union based on the preferences of its dictator. We model and specify Stalin’s preferences for a policy of statistical repression, an integral feature of the Great Terror (1937–1938). We use regional variation in the victims generated by this policy to structurally estimate the value that Stalin would have been willing to accept for a reduction in citizens’ fatality risk. Our estimate of this value, roughly $85,000 (in 2019 U.S. dollars), is substantially smaller than estimates based on citizens’ willingness to pay in modern India and in the United States in 1940.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:133:y:2021:i:c:s0014292121000167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103663
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    Cited by:

    1. Ekaterina Zhuravskaya & Sergei Guriev & Andrei Markevich, 2024. "New Russian Economic History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 47-114, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Value of a statistical life; Autocracy; Stalin; Great Terror;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems

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