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Is survival a luxury good? Income elasticity of the value per statistical life

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  • James K. Hammitt

    (Harvard University
    Université de Toulouse Capitole)

  • Jin-Tan Liu

    (National Taiwan University
    NBER)

  • Jin-Long Liu

    (National Central University)

Abstract

The value of a change in mortality risk is conventionally described by the marginal rate of substitution between income and mortality risk–the value per statistical life (VSL). The income elasticity of VSL is important for estimating how the value of mortality risk varies with time (for evaluating programs with long-lived effects) and across populations with different income levels (for evaluating programs with international consequences). Previous estimates of income elasticity based on meta-analysis of wage-differential studies and cross-sectional comparisons in stated-preference studies suggest values between about one-half and one. We present new estimates based on a 16-year series of wage-differential estimates in Taiwan. Between 1982 and 1997, estimated VSL increased by a factor of five while household labor earnings increased by 60 percent, per capita GDP increased two-and-a-half fold, and the occupational fatality rate in manufacturing and service industries decreased by half. Comparing the growth of VSL with that of household income implies the income elasticity is between about two and five, but this estimate may be biased by the endogeneity of VSL, which is affected by workers’ job choices. Using a two-stage approach to control for endogeneity yields estimates of the income elasticity of VSL between two-thirds and one, consistent with estimates from other approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • James K. Hammitt & Jin-Tan Liu & Jin-Long Liu, 2022. "Is survival a luxury good? Income elasticity of the value per statistical life," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 239-260, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jrisku:v:65:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11166-022-09397-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11166-022-09397-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Value per statistical life; Income elasticity; Mortality risk; Benefit-cost analysis; Taiwan; Occupational fatality risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects

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