Citation

Gentry EP, Viscusi WK. J. Health Econ. 2016; 46: 90-99.

Affiliation

University Distinguished Professor of Law, Economics, and Management, Vanderbilt University 131, 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203, United States. Electronic address: kip.viscusi@vanderbilt.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jhealeco.2016.01.011

PMID

26896740

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.

Language: en