Scandinavian Working Papers in Business Administration

Working Papers,
Örebro University, School of Business

No 2019:5: Is Prevention of Suicide Worth Less? -A Comparison of the Value per Statistical Life

Elin Vimefall (), Mattias Persson (), Sara Olofsson () and Lars Hultkrantz ()
Additional contact information
Elin Vimefall: Örebro University School of Business, Postal: Örebro University, School of Business, SE - 701 82 ÖREBRO, Sweden
Mattias Persson: Örebro University School of Business, Postal: Örebro University, School of Business, SE - 701 82 ÖREBRO, Sweden
Sara Olofsson: IHE-The Swedish Institute for Health Economics, Postal: IHE-The Swedish Institute for Health Economics, Box 2127, SE-220 02 Lund
Lars Hultkrantz: Örebro University School of Business, Postal: Örebro University, School of Business, SE - 701 82 ÖREBRO, Sweden

Abstract: This paper compares the value per statistical life (VSL) in the context of suicide prevention to that of prevention of traffic fatalities. We conducted a contingent valuation survey with questions on willingness to pay (WTP) in both contexts by administering a web questionnaire to 1038 individuals aged 18 to 80. We conjectured that WTP for a given impact on the number of fatalities would be lower for suicide prevention because suicide, at least to some degree, is the result of individuals’ own decisions. However, this hypothesis was not supported by the within- or between-sample estimates of VSL or by responses to direct questions. Hence, no support is provided for the use of a lower valuation of the impact of suicide prevention than for risk-reducing programs in other fields, such as traffic safety.

Keywords: Value of statistical life; Willingness to pay; Mental health; Cost-benefit; Altruism

JEL-codes: D61; I18; J17

25 pages, June 12, 2019

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