The Role of Publication Selection Bias in Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life

Viscusi, W. Kip

doi:10.3386/w20116

Cited by 16 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Recently, Viscusi (2015) completed a meta-analysis that appears consistent with our selection criteria and that directly addresses the goals of this review. The analysis includes 17 studies that rely on CFOI data and controls for whether they address potentially confounding variables such as workers' compensation and nonfatal injury as well as other study characteristics.…”

Section: Revealed-preference Studiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…13 The 17 studies include Aldy and Viscusi (2008), Evans and Schaur (2010), Hersch and Viscusi (2010), Kniesner and Viscusi (2005), Kniesner et al (2012), Kniesner, Viscusi, and Ziliak (2006, 2014, Kochi and Taylor (2011), Scotton (2013), Scotton and Taylor (2011), Viscusi (2003, 2004, Viscusi and Aldy (2007), Viscusi and Hersch (2008), and Viscusi and Philip (2014). Some of these studies do not meet all of our selection criteria, but the controls that Viscusi (2015) included for study characteristics address many of the concerns that led to their exclusion. includes all of the estimates each reports.…”

Section: Revealed-preference Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Valuing Reductions in Fatal Illness Risks: Implications of Recent Research

Robinson

Hammitt

2015

Health Economics

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The value of mortality risk reductions, conventionally expressed as the value per statistical life, is an important determinant of the net benefits of many government policies. US regulators currently rely primarily on studies of fatal injuries, raising questions about whether different values might be appropriate for risks associated with fatal illnesses. Our review suggests that, despite the substantial expansion of the research base in recent years, few US studies of illness-related risks meet criteria for quality, and those that do yield similar values to studies of injury-related risks. Given this result, combining the findings of these few studies with the findings of the more robust literature on injury-related risks appears to provide a reasonable range of estimates for application in regulatory analysis. Our review yields estimates ranging from about $4.2 million to $13.7 million with a mid-point of $9.0 million (2013 dollars). Although the studies we identify differ from those that underlie the values currently used by Federal agencies, the resulting estimates are remarkably similar, suggesting that there is substantial consensus emerging on the values applicable to the general US population. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Revealed-preference Studiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Revealed-preference Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing Reductions in Fatal Illness Risks: Implications of Recent Research

Robinson

Hammitt

2015

Health Economics

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“…Publication selection bias, which occurs whenever journals and researchers are systematically less willing to report or publish estimates falling outside of an accepted range, is greater when available data suffer from significant measurement error. As a result, in the absence of detailed and accurate data on workplace fatalities, VSL estimates will suffer from attenuation and publication selection biases (Viscusi, 2015). These biases are even more prevalent in non-U.S. labor market studies than U.S. studies (Viscusi & Masterman, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Income Elasticities and Global Values of a Statistical Life

Viscusi¹,

Masterman²

2017

J. Benefit Cost Anal.

273

244

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Abstract:Countries throughout the world use estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL) to monetize fatality risks in benefit-cost analyses. However, the vast majority of countries lack reliable revealed preference or stated preference estimates of the VSL. This article proposes that the best way to calculate a populationaverage VSL for countries with insufficient or unreliable data is to transfer a base VSL from the United States calculated using labor market estimates from Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries data, coupled with adjustments for differences in income between the United States and the country of interest. This approach requires estimation of two critical inputs: a base U.S. VSL and the income elasticity of the VSL. Drawing upon previous meta-analyses that include adjustments for publication selection biases, we adopt a base VSL of $9.6 million. We utilize a sample of 953 VSL estimates from 68 labor market studies of the VSL covering fourteen lower-middle income to high income nations. We estimate the income elasticity of the VSL within the United States to be from 0.5 to 0.7 and to be just above 1.0 for non-U.S. countries. Quantile regression reveals that much of the disparity in income elasticities is attributable to income differences between the United States and other countries, as the income elasticity increases for lower income populations. Using income classifications from the World Bank, we calculate average VSLs in lower income, lower-middle income, upper-middle income, and upper income countries to be $107,000, $420,000, $1.2 million, and $6.4 million, respectively. We also present VSL estimates for all 189 countries for which World Bank income data are available, yielding a VSL range from $45,000 to $18.3 million.

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“…The role of publication selection bias has been of increasing concern in the literature and is a topic I examine in Viscusi (2015 b ). Fortunately, the VSL estimates currently used for policy assessment purposes are in the appropriate range even after adjusting for publication selection effects, which are statistically significant.…”

Section: Policy-related Methodological Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pricing Lives for Corporate and Governmental Risk Decisions

Viscusi¹

2015

J. Benefit Cost Anal.

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Abstract:The value of a statistical life (VSL) is the most influential single parameter used in calculating the benefits of governmental regulations. While there are some interagency differences, there is a commonality in the conceptual approach, the central role of mortality risk valuation in benefit assessment, and the general range of valuations used. Corporate risk decisions are based on a less rigorous risk analysis procedure. As typified by the General Motors ignition switch recall problems and the company's lax corporate safety culture, there is often little systematic corporate balancing of cost and risk. This suppression of safety concerns may be attributable to the adverse experiences automobile companies had after conducting risk analyses that valued fatalities based on damages awards for wrongful death, and in response juries levied blockbuster punitive damages awards. Instead, companies should adopt the VSL in its product risk decisions. Companies should also be provided with a safe harbor reference point for responsible risk decisions. Regulatory agencies should use the VSL in setting regulatory sanctions.

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The Role of Publication Selection Bias in Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life

Cited by 16 publications

References 13 publications

Valuing Reductions in Fatal Illness Risks: Implications of Recent Research

Valuing Reductions in Fatal Illness Risks: Implications of Recent Research

Income Elasticities and Global Values of a Statistical Life

Pricing Lives for Corporate and Governmental Risk Decisions

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