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Valuing Life as an Asset, as a Statistic and at Gunpoint

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  • Hugonnier, J.;
  • Pelgrin, F.;
  • St-Amour, P.;

Abstract

The Human Capital (HK) and Statistical Life Values (VSL) differ sharply in their empirical pricing of a human life and lack a common theoretical background to justify these differences. We first contribute to the theory and measurement of life value by providing a unified framework to formally define and relate the Hicksian willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid changes in death risks, the HK and the VSL. Second, we use this setting to introduce an alternative life value calculated at Gunpoint (GPV), i.e. the WTP to avoid certain, instantaneous death. Third, we associate a flexible human capital model to the common framework to characterize the WTP and the three life valuations in closed-form. Fourth, our structural estimates of these solutions yield mean life values of 8.35 M$ (VSL), 421 K$ (HK) and 447 K$ (GPV). We confirm that the strong curvature of the WTP and the linear projection hypothesis of the VSL explain why the latter is much larger than other values.

Suggested Citation

  • Hugonnier, J.; & Pelgrin, F.; & St-Amour, P.;, 2018. "Valuing Life as an Asset, as a Statistic and at Gunpoint," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 18/20, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    • Handle: RePEc:yor:hectdg:18/20
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    Cited by:

    1. Ian W R Martin & Robert S Pindyck, 2021. "Welfare Costs of Catastrophes: Lost Consumption and Lost Lives," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(634), pages 946-969.
    2. James Broughel & Michael Kotrous, 2021. "The benefits of coronavirus suppression: A cost-benefit analysis of the response to the first wave of COVID-19 in the United States," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Jäger, Philipp, 2023. "Can pensions save lives? Evidence from the introduction of old-age assistance in the UK," Ruhr Economic Papers 995, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Canning, David, 2023. "Conducting Cost Benefit Analysis in Expected Utility Units Using Revealed Social Preferences," Working Papers 0722, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    5. St-Amour, Pascal, 2024. "Valuing life over the life cycle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    value of human life; human capital; value of statistical life; Hicksian willingness to pay; equivalent variation; mortality; structural estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J17 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Value of Life; Foregone Income
    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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