Download This PaperEstimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias
17 Pages Posted: 5 May 2004
There are 3 versions of this paper
Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias
Number of pages: 17
Posted: 27 Feb 2004
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Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias
NBER Working Paper No. w10401
Number of pages: 16
Posted: 06 Dec 2010
Last Revised: 04 Dec 2022
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69
Abstract
In this paper we show that omitted variables and publication bias lead to severely biasedestimates of the value of a statistical life. Although our empirical results are obtained in thecontext of a study of choices about road safety, we suspect that the same issues plague theestimation of monetary trade-offs regarding safety in other contexts.
Keywords: omitted variables bias, publication bias, value of a statistical life, speed limits, traffic safety
JEL Classification: J17, C8, H43, I18, R4
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Ashenfelter, Orley C. and Greenstone, Michael, Estimating the Value of a Statistical Life: The Importance of Omitted Variables and Publication Bias. IZA Discussion Paper No. 1037, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5241441 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5241441
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