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The dead anyway effect revis(it)ed

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dc.creator Breyer, Friedrich
dc.creator Felder, Stefan
dc.date 2002
dc.date.accessioned 2013-10-16T06:59:17Z
dc.date.available 2013-10-16T06:59:17Z
dc.date.issued 2013-10-16
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10419/18286
dc.identifier ppn:36158105X
dc.identifier.uri http://koha.mediu.edu.my:8181/xmlui/handle/10419/18286
dc.description In the expected-utility theory of the monetary value of a statistical life, the so-called "dead-anyway" effect discovered by Pratt and Zeckhauser (1996) asserts that an individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for small reductions in mortality risk increases with the initial level of risk. Their reasoning is based on differences in the marginal utility of wealth between the two states of nature: life and death. However, this explanation is based on the absence of markets for contingent claims, i.e. annuities and life insurance. This paper reexamines the "dead-anyway" effect and establishes two main results: first, for a risk-averse individual without a bequest motive, marginal WTP for survival does increase with the level of risk but when insurance markets are perfect, this occurs for a different reason than given by Pratt and Zeckhauser. Secondly, when the individual has a bequest motive and is endowed with a sufficient amount of non-inheritable capital, the effect of initial risk on WTP for survival is reversed: the higher initial risk the lower the value of a statistical life.
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW) Berlin
dc.relation DIW-Diskussionspapiere 302
dc.rights http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen
dc.subject D8
dc.subject H43
dc.subject I18
dc.subject ddc:330
dc.subject Value of life
dc.subject expected utility
dc.subject willingness to pay
dc.subject insurance markets
dc.subject Willingness to pay
dc.subject Erwartungsnutzen
dc.subject Sterblichkeit
dc.subject Risiko
dc.subject Erbe
dc.subject Theorie
dc.title The dead anyway effect revis(it)ed
dc.type doc-type:workingPaper


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