IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v35y2007i3p512-531.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Value of Statistical Life and the Economics of Landmine Clearance in Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Gibson, John
  • Barns, Sandra
  • Cameron, Michael
  • Lim, Steven
  • Scrimgeour, Frank
  • Tressler, John

Abstract

This paper presents estimates of the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) in rural Thailand using the contingent-valuation (CV) method. These estimates are applied to an economic analysis of landmine clearance. The estimated VSL of US$250,000 suggests that the value of lives saved from landmine clearance is at least an order of magnitude greater than the values used in existing studies.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Gibson, John & Barns, Sandra & Cameron, Michael & Lim, Steven & Scrimgeour, Frank & Tressler, John, 2007. "The Value of Statistical Life and the Economics of Landmine Clearance in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 512-531, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:35:y:2007:i:3:p:512-531
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(06)00220-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ted Paterson, 2001. "Commentary on 'The economics of landmine clearance: case study of Cambodia'," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(5), pages 629-634.
    2. James Hammitt & Jin-Tan Liu, 2004. "Effects of Disease Type and Latency on the Value of Mortality Risk," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 73-95, January.
    3. Shanmugam, K R, 2001. "Self Selection Bias in the Estimates of Compensating Differentials for Job Risks in India," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 263-275, May.
    4. Rosen, Sherwin, 1988. "The Value of Changes in Life Expectancy," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 285-304, September.
    5. Gareth Elliot & Geoff Harris, 2001. "A cost-benefit analysis of landmine clearance in Mozambique," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 625-633.
    6. Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee & Shunji Matsuoka, 2005. "Risk Perceptions and Value of a Statistical Life for Air Pollution and Traffic Accidents: Evidence from Bangkok, Thailand," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 261-287, May.
    7. Joseph A. Herriges & Catherine L. Kling, 1999. "Nonlinear Income Effects in Random Utility Models," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 62-72, February.
    8. Viscusi, W Kip & Aldy, Joseph E, 2003. "The Value of a Statistical Life: A Critical Review of Market Estimates throughout the World," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 5-76, August.
    9. Geoff Harris, 2000. "The economics of landmine clearance: case study of Cambodia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 219-225.
    10. Mitchell, Shannon K., 2004. "Death, Disability, Displaced Persons and Development: The Case of Landmines in Bosnia and Herzegovina," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 2105-2120, December.
    11. Perreira, Krista M & Sloan, Frank A, 2002. "Living Healthy and Living Long: Valuing the Nonpecuniary Loss from Disability and Death," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 5-29, January.
    12. Michael Hanemann & John Loomis & Barbara Kanninen, 1991. "Statistical Efficiency of Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1255-1263.
    13. Kip Viscusi, W. & Magat, Wesley A. & Huber, Joel, 1991. "Pricing environmental health risks: survey assessments of risk-risk and risk-dollar trade-offs for chronic bronchitis," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 32-51, July.
    14. Simon, Nathalie B. & Cropper, Maureen L. & Alberini, Anna & Arora, Seema, 1999. "Valuing mortality reductions in India : a study of compensating wage differentials," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2078, The World Bank.
    15. Liu, Jin-Tan & Hammitt, James K. & Liu, Jin-Long, 1997. "Estimated hedonic wage function and value of life in a developing country," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 353-358, December.
    16. Jin‐Tan Liu & James K. Hammitt & Jung‐Der Wang & Meng‐Wen Tsou, 2005. "Valuation of the risk of SARS in Taiwan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 83-91, January.
    17. Viscusi, W Kip, 1993. "The Value of Risks to Life and Health," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1912-1946, December.
    18. Carthy, Trevor & Chilton, Susan & Covey, Judith & Hopkins, Lorraine & Jones-Lee, Michael & Loomes, Graham & Pidgeon, Nick & Spencer, Anne, 1998. "On the Contingent Valuation of Safety and the Safety of Contingent Valuation: Part 2--The CV/SG "Chained" Approach," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 187-213, December.
    19. Hammitt, James K & Graham, John D, 1999. "Willingness to Pay for Health Protection: Inadequate Sensitivity to Probability?," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 33-62, April.
    20. Jason F. Shogren & Tommy Stamland, 2002. "Skill and the Value of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(5), pages 1168-1197, October.
    21. K. Shanmugam, 2000. "Valuations of Life and Injury Risks," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 16(4), pages 379-389, August.
    22. Viscusi, W Kip, 2000. "Risk Equity," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 843-871, June.
    23. repec:reg:rpubli:282 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Beattie, Jane & Covey, Judith & Dolan, Paul & Hopkins, Lorraine & Jones-Lee, Michael & Loomes, Graham & Pidgeon, Nick & Robinson, Angela & Spencer, Anne, 1998. "On the Contingent Valuation of Safety and the Safety of Contingent Valuation: Part 1--Caveat Investigator," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 5-25, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: Evidence from a choice experiment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    2. Bärnighausen, Till & Bloom, David E., 2009. ""Conditional scholarships" for HIV/AIDS health workers: Educating and retaining the workforce to provide antiretroviral treatment in sub-Saharan Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 544-551, February.
    3. Nguyen, Cuong & Tran, Tuyen & Vu, Huong, 2021. "The Long-Term Effects of War on Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Development: Evidence from Vietnam," MPRA Paper 111891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Natina Yaduma & Mika Kortelainen & Ada Wossink, 2013. "Estimating Mortality and Economic Costs of Particulate Air Pollution in Developing Countries: The Case of Nigeria," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 54(3), pages 361-387, March.
    5. Nuarpear Lekfuangfu, 2016. "Mortality Risk and Human Capital Investment: The Legacy of Landmines in Cambodia," PIER Discussion Papers 35, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    6. repec:hal:wpspec:tel-03767752 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jaldell, Henrik & Lebnak, P & Anurak, A & Krongkan, B & Khanisthar, P, 2013. "Time is money, but how much? The monetary value of response time for Thai ambulance emergency services," Karlstad University Working Papers in Economics 8, Karlstad University, Department of Economics.
    8. Elaheh Ainy & Hamid Soori & Mojtaba Ganjali & Henry Le & Taban Baghfalaki, 2014. "Estimating Cost of Road Traffic Injuries in Iran Using Willingness to Pay (WTP) Method," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Nuarpear Lekfuangfu, 2016. "Mortality Risk and Human Capital Investment: The Legacy of Landmines in Cambodia," PIER Discussion Papers 35., Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research, revised Jul 2016.
    10. N. Witvorapong & T. Komonpaisarn, 2020. "The Value of a Statistical Life in Thailand: Evidence from the Labour Market," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 491-518, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Cem Tekeşin & Shihomi Ara, 2014. "Measuring the Value of Mortality Risk Reductions in Turkey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-33, July.
    13. Kruse, Tobias & Atkinson, Giles, 2022. "Understanding public support for international climate adaptation payments: evidence from a choice experiment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112963, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cameron, Michael P. & Gibson, John & Helmers, Kent & Lim, Steven & Scrimgeour, Frank G. & Tressler, John & Vaddanak, Kien, 2005. "Value of Life and Measuring the Benefits of Landmine Clearance in Cambodia," 2005 Conference (49th), February 9-11, 2005, Coff's Harbour, Australia 137799, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    2. Barns, Sandra A. & Cameron, Michael P. & Gibson, John & Lim, Steven & Marsh, Dan & Scrimgeour, Frank G. & Tressler, John, 2004. "Valuing the Risk of Death and Injury from Landmines in Thailand," 2004 Conference, June 25-26, 2004, Blenheim, New Zealand 97797, New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Henrik Andersson & Nicolas Treich, 2011. "The Value of a Statistical Life," Chapters, in: André de Palma & Robin Lindsey & Emile Quinet & Roger Vickerman (ed.), A Handbook of Transport Economics, chapter 17, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. James K. Hammitt, 2020. "Valuing mortality risk in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 129-154, October.
    5. Courard-Hauri David & Lauer Stephen A., 2012. "Taking "All Men Are Created Equal" Seriously: Toward a Metric for the Intergroup Comparison of Utility Functions Through Life Values," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 1-30, August.
    6. Andersson, Henrik, 2006. "Willingness to Pay for Road Safety and Estimates of the Risk of Death: Evidence from a Swedish Contingent Valuation Study," Working Papers 2006:5, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI).
    7. Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee & Shunji Matsuoka, 2005. "Risk Perceptions and Value of a Statistical Life for Air Pollution and Traffic Accidents: Evidence from Bangkok, Thailand," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 261-287, May.
    8. James Hammitt & Jin-Tan Liu, 2004. "Effects of Disease Type and Latency on the Value of Mortality Risk," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 73-95, January.
    9. Henrik Andersson & James Hammitt & Gunnar Lindberg & Kristian Sundström, 2013. "Willingness to Pay and Sensitivity to Time Framing: A Theoretical Analysis and an Application on Car Safety," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 56(3), pages 437-456, November.
    10. 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.
    11. S. Madheswaran, 2007. "Measuring the value of statistical life: estimating compensating wage differentials among workers in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 83-96, October.
    12. Thijs Dekker & Roy Brouwer & Marjan Hofkes & Klaus Moeltner, 2011. "The Effect of Risk Context on the Value of a Statistical Life: a Bayesian Meta-model," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 49(4), pages 597-624, August.
    13. Cem Tekeşin & Shihomi Ara, 2014. "Measuring the Value of Mortality Risk Reductions in Turkey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-33, July.
    14. Jin‐Tan Liu & James K. Hammitt & Jung‐Der Wang & Meng‐Wen Tsou, 2005. "Valuation of the risk of SARS in Taiwan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(1), pages 83-91, January.
    15. Maureen Cropper & James K. Hammitt & Lisa A. Robinson, 2011. "Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions: Progress and Challenges," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 313-336, October.
    16. Viscusi, W Kip & Aldy, Joseph E, 2003. "The Value of a Statistical Life: A Critical Review of Market Estimates throughout the World," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 5-76, August.
    17. 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.
    18. Kip Viscusi, W. & Aldy, Joseph E., 2007. "Labor market estimates of the senior discount for the value of statistical life," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 377-392, May.
    19. Cameron, Trudy Ann & DeShazo, J.R., 2013. "Demand for health risk reductions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 87-109.
    20. Patrick Carlin & Brian E. Dixon & Kosali I. Simon & Ryan Sullivan & Coady Wing, 2022. "How Undervalued is the Covid-19 Vaccine? Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments and VSL Benchmarks," NBER Working Papers 30118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • O22 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Project Analysis

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:35:y:2007:i:3:p:512-531. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.