Willingness to accept equals willingness to pay for labor market estimates of the value of a statistical life

Thomas Kniesner, W Viscusi and James Ziliak

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 2014, vol. 48, issue 3, 187-205

Abstract: Our research clarifies the conceptual linkages among willingness to pay for additional safety, willingness to accept less safety, and the value of a statistical life (VSL). We present econometric estimates using panel data to analyze the VSL levels associated with job changes that may affect the worker’s exposure to fatal injury risks. Our baseline VSL estimates are $7.7 million and $8.3 million (Y$2001). There is no statistically significant divergence between willingness-to-accept VSL estimates associated with wage increases for greater risks and willingness-to-pay VSL estimates as reflected in wage changes for decreases in risk. Our focal result contrasts with the literature documenting a considerable asymmetry in tradeoff rates for increases and decreases in risk. An important implication for policy is that it is reasonable to use labor market estimates of VSL as a measure of the willingness to pay for additional safety. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Keywords: Willingness to pay; Willingness to accept; Value of statistical life; VSL; CFOI; Panel data; I10; J17; J28; K00; C23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Working Paper: Willingness to Accept Equals Willingness to Pay for Labor Market Estimates of the Value of Statistical Life (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:jrisku:v:48:y:2014:i:3:p:187-205

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DOI: 10.1007/s11166-014-9192-1

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