Skill and the Value of Life

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2002
Volume: 110
Issue: 5
Pages: 1168-1197

Authors (2)

Jason F. Shogren (University of Wyoming) Tommy Stamland (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

The value of statistical life (VSL) can be inferred through real-world wagefatality risk trade-offs made across different occupations. This paper shows that the VSL based on the wage-risk trade-off tends to be biased upward if it does not account for the diversity of workers' unobservable skill to cope privately with job risk. This upward bias arises because the highest required wage differential among the workers is divided by their average risk across the population.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:v:110:y:2002:i:5:p:1168-1197
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29