CRITICAL OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES AND METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE VALUE OF THE STATISTICAL LIFE

Assessment of the value of a statistical life (VSL) plays a decisive role in estimating the socio-economic costs of various kinds of emergency situations in the security policy and the system of social guarantees of any developed state. To implement any reform in the field of social policy, there is a necessity of effective results in the cost-benefit analysis in many countries. Most of this result is a potential increase in additional road safety, social guarantees to support society in case of an accident and emergency, by reducing the number of accidents and victims and improving the quality of life, as improving the stability of human existence. The article provides an overview of approaches and methods for assessing the value of human life in case of accidents, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, murders and other external causes. The methodology for assessing the economic damage caused by human mortality, adopted in Russia, should be improved in terms of indicators necessary for the international comparisons with European countries and the USA. To determine all associated cost items, it is necessary to have the appropriate database of statistical indicators, use the recommended methods for international analysis. The choice of the method of damage from human losses has a significant impact on the resulting values: countries using the “willingness-to-pay” method have a much higher estimate of the value of human life than those countries that use other methods, which causes a higher priority of this indicator among other economic costs to society as a whole.

value of statistical life, socio-economic costs of road accidents, human capital, “willingness-to-pay” approach, economic damage, human life cost assessment, life insurance, loss of quality of life, moral damage, approaches to assessing the value of statistical life, emergencies, accidents, quantitative estimates, probabilistic statistical methods.

Tikhomirova T. M., Kamenetskaya A. A. Critical overview of approaches and methods for assessing the value of the statistical life. Business. Education. Law, 2020, no. 3, pp. 124–131. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2020.52.385.