Nicolai Kuminoff, from Arizona State University, will present "The Value of Statistical Life for Seniors"

We develop a new revealed preference framework to estimate the value of statistical life (VSL). Our framework starts from a hedonic model of health care in which heterogenous individuals choose how much to spend on medical services that reduce mortality risk. Their choices generate an equilibrium survival function that can be differentiated to recover their marginal willingness to pay for mortality risk reduction. Our IV estimator uses survey data on Americans aged 67-97, linked to their federal administrative records. The mean VSL is close to $1 million at age 67 and increasing in health, education, income, and remaining life expectancy.