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Article
The Value of Life in Legal Contexts: Survey and Critique
American Law and Economics Review
  • W. Kip Viscusi
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2000
Keywords
  • life valuation,
  • risks,
  • damages,
  • hedonic damages
Disciplines
Abstract

Value of life issues traditionally pertain to insurance of the losses of accident victims, for which replacement of the economic loss is often an appropriate concept. Deterrence measures of the value of life focus on risk-money tradeoffs involving small changes in risk. Using market data for risky jobs and product risk contexts often yields substantial estimates of the value of life in the range of $3 million to $9 million. These estimates are useful in providing guidance for regulatory policy and assessments of liability. However, use of these values to determine compensation, known as hedonic damages, leads to excessive insurance.

Citation Information
W. Kip Viscusi. "The Value of Life in Legal Contexts: Survey and Critique" American Law and Economics Review Vol. 2 (2000) p. 195 ISSN: 1465-7252
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/w_kip_viscusi/56/