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What Is a Life Worth? Robustness of VSL Values from Contingent Valuation Surveys

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  • Anna Alberini

Abstract

The value of a statistical life (VSL) is a key input for estimating the benefits of policies that save lives. Several recent studies have obtained estimates of the VSL from contingent valuation surveys, i.e., by asking people to say how much they would pay to reduce their risk of dying. This article examines statistical factors that may influence the estimates of the VSL obtained from such surveys. We examine the importance of distributional assumptions, the choice of the welfare statistics of interest, the procedure for computing them, outliers, undesirable response effects, and internal validity of the willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) responses. We illustrate the importance of these factors using dichotomous‐choice and open‐ended WTP data from four recent contingent valuation surveys.

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  • Anna Alberini, 2005. "What Is a Life Worth? Robustness of VSL Values from Contingent Valuation Surveys," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(4), pages 783-800, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:25:y:2005:i:4:p:783-800
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2005.00646.x
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    2. Andrea M. Leiter & Gerald J. Pruckner, 2014. "Timing Effects In Health Valuations," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(6), pages 743-750, June.
    3. Balmford, Ben & Bateman, Ian J. & Bolt, Katherine & Day, Brett & Ferrini, Silvia, 2019. "The value of statistical life for adults and children: Comparisons of the contingent valuation and chained approaches," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 68-84.
    4. Ben Balmford & James D. Annan & Julia C. Hargreaves & Marina Altoè & Ian J. Bateman, 2020. "Cross-Country Comparisons of Covid-19: Policy, Politics and the Price of Life," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 525-551, August.
    5. Henrik Lindhjem & Ståle Navrud & Nils Axel Braathen & Vincent Biausque, 2011. "Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions from Environmental, Transport, and Health Policies: A Global Meta‐Analysis of Stated Preference Studies," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(9), pages 1381-1407, September.

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