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Risk Aversion and the Value of Life

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Listed:
  • Juan Carlos CóRdoba
  • Marla Ripoll

Abstract

We show that state non-separable preferences à la Epstein–Zin–Weil (EZW) provide a tractable and flexible framework to study the economics of health and longevity. This utility representation: (1) admits a preference for timing of resolution of uncertainty regarding mortality risks; (2) links the marginal valuation of survival to the level of survival; (3) can preserve homotheticity even for low degrees of intertemporal substitution without generating implausible predictions regarding the value of life; and (4) adds needed flexibility to account for the empirical evidence on the value of life. We illustrate the implications of EZW preferences for the economic value of observed differences in life expectancy across countries and over time, and for the value of life over the life cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Carlos CóRdoba & Marla Ripoll, 2017. "Risk Aversion and the Value of Life," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 84(4), pages 1472-1509.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:84:y:2017:i:4:p:1472-1509.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdw053
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Antoine Bommier, "undated". "Mortality Decline, Impatience and Aggregate Wealth Accumulation with Risk-Sensitive Preferences," Working Papers ETH-RC-14-006, ETH Zurich, Chair of Systems Design.
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    9. Alexander L. Brown & Hwagyun Kim, 2014. "Do Individuals Have Preferences Used in Macro-Finance Models? An Experimental Investigation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(4), pages 939-958, April.
    10. Murtin, Fabrice & Boarini, Romina & Cordoba, Juan Carlos & Ripoll, Marla, 2017. "Beyond GDP: Is there a law of one shadow price?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 390-411.
    11. Matthias Doepke, 2005. "Child mortality and fertility decline: Does the Barro-Becker model fit the facts?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 18(2), pages 337-366, June.
    12. Bleichrodt, Han & Eeckhoudt, Louis, 2006. "Survival risks, intertemporal consumption, and insurance: The case of distorted probabilities," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 335-346, April.
    13. Emily Oster & Ira Shoulson & E. Ray Dorsey, 2013. "Optimal Expectations and Limited Medical Testing: Evidence from Huntington Disease," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 804-830, April.
    14. Gary Becker & Kevin Murphy & Tomas Philipson, 2007. "The Value of Life Near its End and Terminal Care," Levine's Working Paper Archive 122247000000001428, David K. Levine.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    2. Juan Cordoba & Marla Ripoll & Xiying Liu, 2019. "Accounting for the International Quantity-Quality Trade-off," 2019 Meeting Papers 156, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Cui, Xiaodong & Chang, Ching-Ter, 2020. "How life expectancy affects welfare in a Diamond-type overlapping generations model," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 555(C).
    4. Svetlana Pashchenko & Ponpoje Porapakkarm, 2022. "Value of life and annuity demand," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 89(2), pages 371-396, June.
    5. Horneff, Vanya & Liebler, Daniel & Maurer, Raimond & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2019. "Implications of money-back guarantees for individual retirement accounts: Protection then and now," SAFE Working Paper Series 263, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    6. Elena Falcettoni & Vegard M. Nygaard, 2023. "A Comparison Of Living Standards Across The United States Of America," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(2), pages 511-542, May.
    7. Da Costa, Shaun, 2023. "Estimating the welfare gains from anti-retroviral therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. St-Amour, Pascal, 2024. "Valuing life over the life cycle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    9. Groneck, Max & Ludwig, Alexander & Zimper, Alexander, 2024. "Who saves more, the naive or the sophisticated agent?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    10. Juan‐Carlos Cordoba & Marla Ripoll & Siqiang Yang, 2024. "The Full Recession: Private Versus Social Costs Of Covid‐19," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 65(1), pages 547-582, February.
    11. Aldy, Joseph E. & Atkinson, Giles & Kotchen, Matthew J., 2021. "Environmental benefit-cost analysis: a comparative analysis between the United States and the United Kingdom," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 110879, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Arthur E. Attema & Jona J. Frasch & Olivier L’Haridon, 2022. "Multivariate risk preferences in the quality‐adjusted life year model," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 382-398, February.
    13. Da Costa, Shaun & O’Donnell, Owen & Van Gestel, Raf, 2024. "Distributionally sensitive measurement and valuation of population health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    14. Brembilla, Laurent, 2018. "Longevity and welfare in general equilibrium," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 22-36.
    15. Shaun Da Costa & Owen O'Donnell & Raf Van Gestel, 2023. "Distributionally Sensitive Measurement and Valuation of Population Health," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 23-017/V, Tinbergen Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Life expectancy; Value of statistical life; Epstein–Zin–Weil preferences; Welfare; AIDS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income

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