One challenging task faced by US government agencies is determining whether the benefits of their proposed regulations justify the costs. For benefits associated with reducing the risks of premature mortality, they rely on an analytic construct—the value per statistical life (VSL)—which...

This paper provides theoretical background for a symposium on whether the monetary value of changes in mortality risk resulting from environmental policy is best summarized in terms of a ‘value per statistical life’ (VSL) or ‘value per statistical life-year’ (VSLY). The relationship...

What is the rationale for benefit-cost analysis (BCA)? The answer is critical for determining how BCA should be conducted and interpreted, and identifying its implications for policy. This article examines two possible justifications for BCA: positive and normative. The positive rationale is...