The value of preventing a fatality or (saving) a statistical life is an important question in health economics as well as environmental economics. This paper reviews and adds new insights to several of the issues discussed in the literature. For example, how do we define the value of a...

Many contingent valuation experiments use commodity prices as the payment vehicle. In this note it is shown, in general, that this approach does not allow the investigator to extract the respondent's willingness to pay. However, it is also shown how the valuation question can be formulated so as...

In this study we report an attempt to measure the value adult Swedes impute to an increased survival probability at high ages. A rating scale between the worst possible quality of life (=1) and the best possible quality of life (=10) is used to indicate the quality of life a person expects to...

In this paper, we develop a simple model of the benefits and costs of being on a waiting list. The model shows that complex factors are in operation, implying that a shorter waiting time need not necessarily be preferred to a longer waiting time. We also present an empirical study, where a...

This study addresses the question of willingness to pay (WTP) for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in order to alleviate menopayusal symptoms. A utility model is specified where the individual obtains utility from consumption of goods and health. The purchase of a treatment is represented as a...

The value of preventing a fatality or (saving) a statistical life is an important question in health economics as well as environmental economics. This paper reviews and adds new insights to several of the issues discussed in the literature. For example, how do we define the value of a...

In this study we report an attempt to measure the WTP of car owners for a reduction of the probability of being killed in a traffic accident. One group of respondents is offered a safety device to be installed in their car, while another group is offered a public safety program (improved road...

Previous studies indicate that the general public would prefer to reallocate medical resources from old people to young ones, and also has a low WTP for measures that increase the survival probability at an advanced age. In this paper, we present an analysis of the value of a ‘blip’, i.e. an...