The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China

Economic analyses of development projects and policies often involve assigning an economic value to changes in the risk of loss of human life. A typical term used in the economic analyses is the value of statistical life, which reflects the aggrega...

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Main Authors:	Wang, Hua, He, Jie
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	ABATEMENT ADULT HEALTH AGED AIR POLLUTION AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AIR QUALITY BENCHMARK BENEFIT ANALYSIS BIG CITIES BORROWING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS CANCER CONSUMER SURPLUS CONTINGENT VALUATION CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD CORRECT ESTIMATES DEMAND CURVES DEMOGRAPHICS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE DURABLE GOODS ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC COSTS ECONOMIC VALUE ECONOMICS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EXPECTED UTILITY EXPECTED VALUE EXPENDITURES FAMILIES FAMILY INCOME FEMALE MORTALITY FUNCTIONAL FORMS HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH IMPACT HEALTH RISKS HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HOSPITAL HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN HEALTH HUMAN LIFE ILLNESS INCENTIVE EFFECTS INCOME LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LAND ECONOMICS LEVELS OF MORTALITY MARGINAL VALUE MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION METAANALYSIS METHOD CHOICES MORBIDITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE MORTALITY REDUCTION MORTALITY RISK OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PATIENTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY CHANGE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLLUTION CONTROL POLLUTION REDUCTION PREMATURE DEATH PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC SERVICES RESPECT RESPIRATORY DISEASES RISK OF DEATH RURAL AREAS SECONDARY SCHOOL SEX SIDE EFFECTS SMOKING SOCIAL SECURITY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TRADEOFFS TRANSPORTATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES URBAN AREAS UTILITY FUNCTION WAGES WEALTH WILLINGNESS TO PAY WORKERS WTP
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100916110936 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3905

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spelling	okr-10986-39052021-04-23T14:02:13Z The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China Wang, Hua He, Jie ABATEMENT ADULT HEALTH AGED AIR POLLUTION AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AIR QUALITY BENCHMARK BENEFIT ANALYSIS BIG CITIES BORROWING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS CANCER CONSUMER SURPLUS CONTINGENT VALUATION CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD CORRECT ESTIMATES DEMAND CURVES DEMOGRAPHICS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE DURABLE GOODS ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC COSTS ECONOMIC VALUE ECONOMICS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EXPECTED UTILITY EXPECTED VALUE EXPENDITURES FAMILIES FAMILY INCOME FEMALE MORTALITY FUNCTIONAL FORMS HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH IMPACT HEALTH RISKS HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HOSPITAL HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN HEALTH HUMAN LIFE ILLNESS INCENTIVE EFFECTS INCOME LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LAND ECONOMICS LEVELS OF MORTALITY MARGINAL VALUE MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION METAANALYSIS METHOD CHOICES MORBIDITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE MORTALITY REDUCTION MORTALITY RISK OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PATIENTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY CHANGE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLLUTION CONTROL POLLUTION REDUCTION PREMATURE DEATH PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC SERVICES RESPECT RESPIRATORY DISEASES RISK OF DEATH RURAL AREAS SECONDARY SCHOOL SEX SIDE EFFECTS SMOKING SOCIAL SECURITY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TRADEOFFS TRANSPORTATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES URBAN AREAS UTILITY FUNCTION WAGES WEALTH WILLINGNESS TO PAY WORKERS WTP Economic analyses of development projects and policies often involve assigning an economic value to changes in the risk of loss of human life. A typical term used in the economic analyses is the value of statistical life, which reflects the aggregation of individuals' willingness to pay for fatal risk reduction and therefore the economic value to society to reduce the statistical incidence of premature death in the population by one. Studies on the value of a statistical life have been extensively conducted in the developed world; however, few such studies can be found for developing countries. This paper presents a study that estimates individuals' willingness to pay for cancer risk prevention in three provinces of China. The results imply that the mean value of willingness to pay for a cancer vaccine that is effective for one year is 759 yuan, with a much lower median value of 171 yuan. The estimated income elasticity of willingness to pay is 0.42. Using data on the incidence of cancer illness and death in the population, these willingness to pay figures imply that the marginal value of reducing the anticipated incidence of cancer mortality by one in the population is 73,000 yuan and an average value of 795,000 yuan, which are about six and 60 times average household annual income, respectively. The big difference between the marginal value and the average value of fatal risk reduction corresponds to a very low estimated elasticity of willingness to pay with respect to fatal risk reduction. This finding challenges the validity of previous studies of the value of a statistical life, which are mostly based on average willingness-to-pay values of mortality risk reduction. 2012-03-19T18:41:54Z 2012-03-19T18:41:54Z 2010-09-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100916110936 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3905 English Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5421 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia and Pacific East Asia and Pacific East Asia Asia China
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	ABATEMENT ADULT HEALTH AGED AIR POLLUTION AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AIR QUALITY BENCHMARK BENEFIT ANALYSIS BIG CITIES BORROWING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS CANCER CONSUMER SURPLUS CONTINGENT VALUATION CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD CORRECT ESTIMATES DEMAND CURVES DEMOGRAPHICS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE DURABLE GOODS ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC COSTS ECONOMIC VALUE ECONOMICS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EXPECTED UTILITY EXPECTED VALUE EXPENDITURES FAMILIES FAMILY INCOME FEMALE MORTALITY FUNCTIONAL FORMS HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH IMPACT HEALTH RISKS HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HOSPITAL HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN HEALTH HUMAN LIFE ILLNESS INCENTIVE EFFECTS INCOME LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LAND ECONOMICS LEVELS OF MORTALITY MARGINAL VALUE MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION METAANALYSIS METHOD CHOICES MORBIDITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE MORTALITY REDUCTION MORTALITY RISK OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PATIENTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY CHANGE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLLUTION CONTROL POLLUTION REDUCTION PREMATURE DEATH PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC SERVICES RESPECT RESPIRATORY DISEASES RISK OF DEATH RURAL AREAS SECONDARY SCHOOL SEX SIDE EFFECTS SMOKING SOCIAL SECURITY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TRADEOFFS TRANSPORTATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES URBAN AREAS UTILITY FUNCTION WAGES WEALTH WILLINGNESS TO PAY WORKERS WTP
spellingShingle	ABATEMENT ADULT HEALTH AGED AIR POLLUTION AIR POLLUTION CONTROL AIR QUALITY BENCHMARK BENEFIT ANALYSIS BIG CITIES BORROWING BUDGET CONSTRAINTS CANCER CONSUMER SURPLUS CONTINGENT VALUATION CONTINGENT VALUATION METHOD CORRECT ESTIMATES DEMAND CURVES DEMOGRAPHICS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONTEXT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DICHOTOMOUS CHOICE DURABLE GOODS ECOLOGICAL ECONOMICS ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC COSTS ECONOMIC VALUE ECONOMICS ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL STUDIES ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY EXPECTED UTILITY EXPECTED VALUE EXPENDITURES FAMILIES FAMILY INCOME FEMALE MORTALITY FUNCTIONAL FORMS HEALTH EFFECTS HEALTH IMPACT HEALTH RISKS HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT HOSPITAL HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN HEALTH HUMAN LIFE ILLNESS INCENTIVE EFFECTS INCOME LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LAND ECONOMICS LEVELS OF MORTALITY MARGINAL VALUE MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION METAANALYSIS METHOD CHOICES MORBIDITY MORTALITY MORTALITY RATE MORTALITY REDUCTION MORTALITY RISK OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PATIENTS PER CAPITA INCOME POLICY CHANGE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLLUTION CONTROL POLLUTION REDUCTION PREMATURE DEATH PRESENT VALUE PRICE INCREASES PROGRESS PUBLIC HEALTH PUBLIC SERVICES RESPECT RESPIRATORY DISEASES RISK OF DEATH RURAL AREAS SECONDARY SCHOOL SEX SIDE EFFECTS SMOKING SOCIAL SECURITY STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TRADEOFFS TRANSPORTATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES URBAN AREAS UTILITY FUNCTION WAGES WEALTH WILLINGNESS TO PAY WORKERS WTP Wang, Hua He, Jie The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
geographic_facet	East Asia and Pacific East Asia and Pacific East Asia Asia China
relation	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5421
description	Economic analyses of development projects and policies often involve assigning an economic value to changes in the risk of loss of human life. A typical term used in the economic analyses is the value of statistical life, which reflects the aggregation of individuals' willingness to pay for fatal risk reduction and therefore the economic value to society to reduce the statistical incidence of premature death in the population by one. Studies on the value of a statistical life have been extensively conducted in the developed world; however, few such studies can be found for developing countries. This paper presents a study that estimates individuals' willingness to pay for cancer risk prevention in three provinces of China. The results imply that the mean value of willingness to pay for a cancer vaccine that is effective for one year is 759 yuan, with a much lower median value of 171 yuan. The estimated income elasticity of willingness to pay is 0.42. Using data on the incidence of cancer illness and death in the population, these willingness to pay figures imply that the marginal value of reducing the anticipated incidence of cancer mortality by one in the population is 73,000 yuan and an average value of 795,000 yuan, which are about six and 60 times average household annual income, respectively. The big difference between the marginal value and the average value of fatal risk reduction corresponds to a very low estimated elasticity of willingness to pay with respect to fatal risk reduction. This finding challenges the validity of previous studies of the value of a statistical life, which are mostly based on average willingness-to-pay values of mortality risk reduction.
format	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author	Wang, Hua He, Jie
author_facet	Wang, Hua He, Jie
author_sort	Wang, Hua
title	The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
title_short	The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
title_full	The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
title_fullStr	The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
title_full_unstemmed	The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China
title_sort	value of statistical life : a contingent investigation in china
publishDate	2012
url	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20100916110936 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3905
_version_	1764388948310753280

The Value of Statistical Life : A Contingent Investigation in China

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