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Updated: May 27, 2026

Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (Propensity Score) using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
Are estimates of the value of a statistical life exaggerated?
Chris Doucouliagos1, T D Stanley, Margaret Giles
1Deakin University, School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood VIC 3125, Australia. douc@deakin.edu.au
Abstract:
The magnitude of the value of a statistical life (VSL) is critical to the evaluation of many health and safety initiatives. To date, the large and rigorous VSL research literature has not explicitly accommodated publication selectivity bias (i.e., the reduced probability that insignificant or negative VSL values are reported). This study demonstrates that doing so is essential. For studies that employ hedonic wage equations to estimate VSL, correction for selection bias reduces the average value of a statistical life by 70-80%. Our meta-regression analysis also identifies several sources for the wide heterogeneity found among reported VSL estimates.
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