The Evaluation of Life-Saving: A Survey

There has been recent interest, for purposes of public decision-making, in the quantification of certain variables which have no directly observable market price. The quantification or "pricing" of one such variable, the increase or decrease in human mortality, is useful for decisions related to standard-setting and public programs. This paper presents a survey of four basic methodologies which have been suggested for making this quantification. The historical development of each approach is traced, selected case studies are presented and the limitations of the methods are reviewed. Plans for continuing research in this area are summarized