Abstract
The economic approach to valuing risks to life focuses on risk–money trade-offs for very small risks of death, or the value of statistical life (VSL). These VSL levels will generally exceed the optimal insurance amounts. A substantial literature has estimated the wage–fatality risk trade-offs, implying a median VSL of $7 million for US workers. International evidence often indicates a lower VSL, which is consistent with the lower income levels in less developed countries. Preference heterogeneity also generates different trade-off rates across the population as people who are more willing to bear risk will exhibit lower wage–risk trade-offs
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Viscusi, W.K. (2018). Value of Life. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1323
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1323
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