HERO On line Working Paper Series
No 2002:2:
Public- and private-good values of statistical lives Results from a combined choice-experiment and contingent-valuation survey
Jon Strand ()
Abstract: We present a stated-preference study where values of
statistical lives (VSL) are derived both as public and private goods, and
we distinguish between three different death causes, heart disease,
environmentally related illnesses and traffic accidents. 1000 randomly
chosen individuals in Norway were faced a three-part valuation procedure:
1) pairwise comparisons (conjoint analysis), 2) combined contingent-ranking
and contingent-valuation of willingness to pay (WTP) for public projects to
reduce overall population mortality risk, and 3) WTP for individual
treatment reducing own mortality risk from heart disease. Parts 1-2
comprise all three death causes, and indicate public-good VSL in the range
3-6 million USD, with heart disease deaths in the lower part of this range,
environmental causes in the upper part, and traffic accidents in-between.
Part 2 also permits a splitting up of VSL into motives (selfmotivated and
altruistic), and indicates that about 30 % of total public-good WTP is
selfmotivated. Part 3 provides a self-motivated (private-good) VSL figure
for heart disease in the range 1-1.5 million USD, close to the
self-motivated share of VSL from part 2. We find high consistency between
values derived, and indications that private- and public-good VSL may
differ subtantially, as well as VSL by death cause. Under pairwise
comparisons in part 1 we find complete insensitivity of VSL to risk
magnitude (or “scope”), in contrast to existing literature. The more
complex choices under part 2 by contrast imply considerable scope
sensitivity.
Keywords: Value of statistical lives; public goods; stated preference methods; altruism; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: D64; H41; H42; I18; (follow links to similar papers)
56 pages, June 29, 2009
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