New Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life Using Air Bag Regulations as a Quasi-experiment

Chris Rohlfs, Ryan Sullivan and Thomas Kniesner

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2015, vol. 7, issue 1, 331-59

Abstract: Due to federal regulations, automobile air bag availability was a model-specific discontinuous function of model year for used vehicles in the 1990s and early 2000s. We use the discontinuities and the gradual increase in the supply of air bags to trace out the demand curve for air bags and the implied distribution of the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) across consumers. Although imprecise, our preferred point estimates indicate that the median VSL is between $9 million and $11 million and that a sizable portion of consumers placed negative values on air bags, probably due to distrust of the technology. (JEL D12, J17, L51, L62)

JEL-codes: D12 J17 L51 L62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20110309
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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Working Paper: New Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life Using Air Bag Regulations as a Quasi-Experiment (2012)
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