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Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias

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Author Info
Orley Ashenfelter (Princeton University and NBER)
Michael Greenstone (MIT, American Bar Foundation and NBER)

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Abstract

Measures of public preferences toward risk are critical to evaluations of public policies on many safety, environmental, and health issues. In this paper we provide a method for measuring the revealed preferences for safety risks from state level public choices about speed limits. The idea is to measure the value of the time saved per incremental fatality that results from the voluntary adoption of an increased speed limit. Since adopters must have valued the time saved by greater speeds more than the fatalities created, this ratio provides a convincing and credible upper bound on the value of a statistical life (VSL).

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File URL: http://www.princeton.edu/~ceps/workingpapers/97ashenfelter.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies. in its series Working Papers with number 105.

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Date of creation: Jan 2004
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Handle: RePEc:pri:cepsud:105

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Orley Ashenfelter & Colm Harmon & Hessel Oosterbeek, 2000. "A Review of Estimates of the Schooling/Earnings Relationship, with Tests for Publication Bias," NBER Working Papers 7457, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  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. [Downloadable!]
  4. Orley Ashenfelter & Michael Greenstone, 2002. "Using Mandated Speed Limits to Measure the Value of a Statistical Life," Working Papers 842, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Glenn C. Blomquist, 2004. "Self-Protection and Averting Behavior, Values of Statistical Lives, and Benefit Cost Analysis of Environmental Policy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 89-110, 03. [Downloadable!]
  6. repec:fth:prinin:425 is not listed on IDEAS
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. 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. [Downloadable!]
  2. Su Wu, 2006. "The Wallis Report and Implications of Bank Mergers for Efficiencies," Economics Series 2006_12, Deakin University, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance. [Downloadable!]
  3. T.D. Stanley & Chris Doucouliagous & Stephen B. Jarrell, 2006. "Meta-Regression Analysis as the Socio-Economics of Economic Research," Economics Series 2006_21, Deakin University, Faculty of Business and Law, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance. [Downloadable!]
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  4. repec:bep:eapcon:v:5:y:2006:i:1:p:1524-1524 is not listed on IDEAS
  5. Michael Greenstone & Justin Gallagher, 2006. "Does Hazardous Waste Matter? Evidence from the Housing Market and the Superfund Program," Working Papers 0620, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. 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. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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