Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias

Orley Ashenfelter and Michael Greenstone

No 1037, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: In this paper we show that omitted variables and publication bias lead to severely biased estimates of the value of a statistical life. Although our empirical results are obtained in the context of a study of choices about road safety, we suspect that the same issues plague the estimation of monetary trade-offs regarding safety in other contexts.

Keywords: omitted variables bias; publication bias; value of a statistical life; speed limits; traffic safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C8 H43 I18 J17 R4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2004-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-geo, nep-hea and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (90)

Published - published in: American Economic Review, 2004, 94 (2), 454-460

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Related works:
Journal Article: Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias (2004)
Working Paper: Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias (2004)
Working Paper: Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias (2004)
Working Paper: Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias (2004)
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