Examination of estimates of the income elasticity of the value of a statistical life based on international stated preference studies yields an average between 0.94 and 1.05 overall and 0.65 and 0.80 after controlling for covariates. Quantile regression estimates indicate that the income...

This article presents the first meta-analysis documenting the extent of publication selection biases in stated preference estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL). Stated preference studies fail to overcome the publication biases that affect much of the VSL literature. Such biases...

While one might expect athletes to be strongly averse to extending their career too long when there is a chance of losing everything due to a concussion or a catastrophic injury, experimental subjects consistently played longer than the optimal amount for risk-neutral decisions. A commitment to...

Countries throughout the world use estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) to monetize fatality risks in benefit-cost analyses. However, the vast majority of countries lack reliable revealed preference or stated preference estimates of the VSL. This article proposes that the best way...

Selection of the best estimates of economic parameters frequently relies on the best estimate or a meta-analysis of the “best-set” of parameter estimates from the literature. Using an all-set dataset consisting of all reported estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) as well as a...

This paper updates the cost-per-life-saved cutoff, which is a cost-effectiveness threshold for life- saving regulations, whereby regulations costing more per life saved than this threshold level are expected to increase mortality risk on net. Two competing methods of deriving the cutoff exist: a...

Government agencies throughout the world use the value of a statistical life (VSL) to monetize the mortality risk reduction benefits of government policies. The most reliable empirical estimates of the VSL using U.S. labor market data are about US$10 million (year 2015 U.S. dollars). Based on...

The value of a statistical life (VSL) monetizes the expected loss in well-being associated with the risk of death. The utility loss resulting from a fatality is central to the empirical framework for estimating the VSL. The VSL trajectory over the life cycle exhibits an inverted-U shape,...

Low probability risks create challenges for individual decisions and potential pressures for government regulation. This article reports original survey evidence regarding the public’s perception and valuation of water-related risks from plastic bottles with BPA, residues in drinking water of...

This paper measures the effects of recycling and deposit laws based on the impact of changes in recycling environments for households that moved between states. Estimates from panel data on 3,902 households who moved provide a quasi-experimental test of effects of deposit laws and recycling laws...