Value of statistical life: adults versus children

Most studies on the value of statistical life (VOSL) and values for prevention of injuries provide only the average values for the overall population. It is often argued that the values for children may be higher than that for adults because parents are usually more concerned about the mortality and morbidity risks of their children than for themselves. However, it is not an easy task to determine separate VOSLs for children and adults. Only a few empirical results are available and they do not show a definite pattern. Using the results of a value of safety survey carried out in New Zealand in 1997-1998, this paper investigates whether the willingness to pay based VOSL is higher or lower for children. Formal statistical tests were carried out to test the differences and also a regression analysis was carried out to estimate the VOSL separately for adults and children, particularly in households with children. The analysis shows that for the whole sample, the value is higher for children. However, when some outliers were removed the results indicate a higher value for adults than for children. A further trimming shows the value of children is slightly higher. Therefore, no definite conclusion could be drawn. Households without children have the highest VOSL.