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Valuing life: a plea for disaggregation.

Cass R Sunstein1

  • 1University of Chicago, Law School and Deparment of Political Science.

Duke Law Journal
|June 9, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Government agencies should not use a single value of statistical life (VSL). VSL should vary by risk and individual, especially considering distributional impacts and bounded rationality, to ensure equitable policy.

Area of Science:

  • Economics
  • Public Policy
  • Risk Assessment

Background:

  • Government agencies currently employ a uniform figure to quantify the value of statistical life (VSL).
  • This standardized approach is theoretically inconsistent with the underlying principles of VSL, which advocate for greater differentiation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To argue for a more individualized and context-dependent approach to calculating the value of statistical life (VSL).
  • To explore the implications of varying VSL across different risks and demographic groups, including the wealthy and the poor.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of VSL principles.
  • Examination of practical implications for policy, including cancer risk reduction and distributional effects.
  • Consideration of complications arising from bounded rationality and cost-benefit analysis.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • VSL should ideally vary across different types of risks.
  • VSL should also vary across individuals, potentially leading to lower valuations for some groups.
  • Programs reducing cancer risks may warrant a higher VSL.
  • Distributional considerations suggest higher VSL for programs benefiting the wealthy and lower VSL for those benefiting the poor, with caveats.

Conclusions:

  • Current uniform VSL calculations are a significant flaw.
  • Bounded rationality complicates the use of willingness-to-pay.
  • Distributional concerns may necessitate higher VSL for the poor, contrary to simple market-based evidence.
  • Revising VSL approaches has foundational implications for government regulation and international equity.