How unobservable productivity biases the value of a statistical life
By: Thomas J. Kneisner, W. Kip Viscusi, Christopher Woock & James P. Ziliak.
Contributors: Viscusi, W. Kip.; Woock, Christopher.; Ziliak, James P.; John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business.
Series: Discussion paper -- no. 524; Discussion paper (John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business : Online) -- no. 524.
Publisher: Harvard Law School
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "A prominent theoretical controversy in the compensating differentials literature concerns unobservable individual productivity.  Competing models yield opposite predictions depending on whether the unobservable productivity is safety-related skill or productivity generally.  Using five panel waves and several new measures of worker fatality risks, first-difference estimates imply that omitting individual heterogeneity leads to overestimates of the value of statistical life, consistent with the latent safety-related skill interpretation.  Risk measures with less measurement error raise the value of statistical life, the net effect being that estimates from the static model range from $5.3 million to $6.7 million, with dynamic model estimates somewhat higher"--John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics, and Business web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 3/19/2007.

Includes bibliographical references.

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