VALUING LIFE AS AN ASSET, AS A STATISTIC, AND AT GUNPOINT

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hugonnier, Julien; Pelgrin, Florian; St-Amour, Pascal
• 署名单位: Swiss Finance Institute (SFI); Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Universite de Montreal; University of Lausanne; Swiss Finance Institute (SFI)
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueab072
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 1095-1122
• 关键词: risk-aversion; subjective probabilities; temporal behavior; HEALTH; consumption; demand; substitution; mortality; WEALTH; cycle

摘要

Rationalising the stark differences between the human capital and the statistical values of a human life is complicated by the absence of common foundations. We solve a human capital investment model with longevity risk to characterise the human capital. The associated indirect utility yields the willingness to pay against mortality; the marginal willingness to pay solves the value of a statistical life. Indifference between life and certain death characterises the limiting willingness to pay and provides a gunpoint value. A structural estimation reveals similar human capital ($300,000) and gunpoint value ($251.000) and explains a much larger statistical value ($4.98 million) by a strongly concave willingness to pay.