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A novel approach to estimating the demand value of public safety

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  • Rheinberger, Christoph M.
  • Schläpfer, Felix
  • Lobsiger, Michael

Abstract

We present a novel approach for estimating the demand value of public safety and apply it to road safety improvements in Switzerland. Survey responses by more than 1,000 eligible voters to questions about how much public spending on road safety should increase are combined with observations of their income tax and road usage to derive the value of a statistical accident avoided. A risk-risk tradeoff elicitation allows decomposing this value into willingness-to-pay values for various degrees of accident severity. Our most comprehensive estimate of the value per statistical life is CHF 4.2 million (corresponding to $4.5 million or €3.5 million). We explore the sensitivity of the elicitation approach to anchoring and other framing effects and find that our approach is as least as scope sensitive as other stated preference approaches.

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  • Rheinberger, Christoph M. & Schläpfer, Felix & Lobsiger, Michael, 2018. "A novel approach to estimating the demand value of public safety," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 285-305.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:89:y:2018:i:c:p:285-305
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2018.04.002
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    2. Schläpfer, Felix & Getzner, Michael, 2020. "Beyond Current Guidelines: A Proposal for Bringing Behavioral Economics to the Design and Analysis of Stated Preference Surveys," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Felix Schläpfer, 2021. "Inadequate Standards in the Valuation of Public Goods and Ecosystem Services: Why Economists, Environmental Scientists and Policymakers Should Care," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, January.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income

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