We examine how different welfarist frameworks evaluate the social value of mortality riskreduction. These frameworks include classical, distributively unweighted cost-benefit analysis—i.e., the “value per statistical life” (VSL) approach—and three benchmark social welfare functions...

This study examines the value of reducing foodborne risk. Research on the valuation of health risk has been dominated by the study of mortality risk. Foodborne risk is, however, in most cases non-fatal and this study therefore focuses on individuals' preferences for reducing morbidity risk...

This paper examines the causal effect of parental schooling on children’s schooling using a large sample of adoptees from Taiwan. Using birth-parents’ education to help control for selective placement of children with adoptive parents, we find that adoptees raised with more highly...

Assessing the welfare impact of consumer health advisories is a thorny task. Recently, Shimshack and Ward (2010) studied how U.S. households responded to FDA’s 2001 mercury-in-fish advisory. They found that the average at-risk household reduced fish consumption by about 24%, resulting in...

Stated preference (SP) surveys attempt to obtain monetary values for non-market goods that reflect individuals’ “true†preferences. Numerous empirical studies suggest that monetary values from SP studies are sensitive to survey design and so may not reflect respondents’...

We examine how different welfarist frameworks evaluate the social value of mortality riskreduction. These frameworks include classical, distributively unweighted cost-benefit analysis—i.e., the “value per statistical life” (VSL) approach—and three benchmark social welfare functions...

Valuing the health of children for cost-utility or cost-benefit analysis poses a number of additional challenges when compared with valuing adult health. Some of these challenges relate to the inability of young children to value changes in health directly and the potential biases associated...