Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Journal of Health Economics
Publication Date
3-2016
ISSN
0167-6296
Page Number
90
Keywords
Value of a statistical life, Fatality, Morbidity, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, VSL
Disciplines
Health Economics | Health Law and Policy | Law
Abstract
The fatality risk–money tradeoff that is the value of a statistical life (VSL) may vary with the nature of the fatality event. While all fatalities involve loss of future life expectancy, the morbidity effects and their duration may differ. This article analyzes fatality risks accompanied by morbidity effects of different duration to disentangle the mortality and morbidity components of VSL using data from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). The VSL is comprised of the sum of the value of the fatality risk and the value of the morbidity risk. Labor market valuations of morbidity risks are positive, even for fatalities that are caused by traumatic injuries. The value of the fatality risk is the dominant component of VSL, rather than the value of the morbidity risk.
Recommended Citation
W. Kip Viscusi and Elissa Philip Gentry,
The Fatality and Morbidity Components of the Value of Statistical Life, 46 Journal of Health Economics. 90
(2016)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/1560