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The Value of a Statistical Life in a Road Safety Context -- A Review of the Current Literature

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  • Francisco J. Bahamonde-Birke
  • Uwe Kunert
  • Heike Link

Abstract

This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art for assessing the value of a statistical life (VSL) as a component of the costs of road accidents. It focuses on the most popular approaches for assessing the VSL, with respect to its theoretical foundations, current state-of-research and empirical evidence. Our paper also provides a first (to our knowledge) compendium of results for the VSL based on Stated Choice (SC) methods. Among the analysed alternatives, the willingness-to-pay (WTP) appears to be the leading approach for assessing the VSL and the SC methods represent the current state-of-the-art for determining the WTP for non-market goods. We conclude that the SC approach overcomes some of the most important shortcomings of the alternative approaches and offers a significant flexibility that can be used to address its own limitations. We also identify a significant need for research, as a gap between the methods employed in research (SC methods) and the state-of-the-practice (other methods) has emerged.

Suggested Citation

  • Francisco J. Bahamonde-Birke & Uwe Kunert & Heike Link, 2015. "The Value of a Statistical Life in a Road Safety Context -- A Review of the Current Literature," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(4), pages 488-511, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:transr:v:35:y:2015:i:4:p:488-511
    DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2015.1025454
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    Cited by:

    1. Niek Mouter & Paul Koster & Thijs Dekker, 2019. "Participatory Value Evaluation versus Cost-Benefit Analysis: comparing recommendations in the context of urban mobility investments," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 19-046/VIII, Tinbergen Institute, revised 27 Jan 2020.
    2. Jaithri Ananthapavan & Marj Moodie & Andrew J. Milat & Rob Carter, 2021. "Systematic Review to Update ‘Value of a Statistical Life’ Estimates for Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Amrit Banstola & Jesse Kigozi & Pelham Barton & Julie Mytton, 2020. "Economic Burden of Road Traffic Injuries in Nepal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Mouter, Niek & van Cranenburgh, Sander & van Wee, Bert, 2017. "An empirical assessment of Dutch citizens' preferences for spatial equality in the context of a national transport investment plan," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 217-230.
    5. Mouter, Niek & van Cranenburgh, Sander & van Wee, Bert, 2017. "Do individuals have different preferences as consumer and citizen? The trade-off between travel time and safety," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 333-349.
    6. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2016. "The private (unnoticed) welfare cost of highway speeding behavior from time saving misperceptions," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 7, pages 24-37.

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