THE VALUE OF A STATISTICAL LIFE: ECONOMICS AND POLITICS

March 14, 2017

The value of a statistical life (VSL) is the marginal rate of substitution between income (or wealth) and mortality risk. The VSL indicates how much individuals are willing to pay (WTP) to reduce the risk of death. Applied properly, the VSL can be used in the benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the efficiency of government policies designed to reduce risk. The VSL can be estimated via revealed preference data by observing individuals choices that influence both income and risk levels. For example, the wage-risk literature examines the premium paid to workers in more risky occupations after controlling for other factors. The VSL is also sometimes estimated via stated preference data by querying individuals about hypothetical choices over income and risk.

Spotlight

Vriens & Partners

Vriens & Partners is a Singapore-based corporate advisory firm focused on Southeast Asia and specializing in government affairs, political risk analysis and public policy. The firm provides independent appraisals of the political risk associated with existing and potential investments, expert analysis of public policy issues and strategies for engaging local stakeholders.

OTHER WHITEPAPERS
news image

The Ultimate Guide to Government CX

whitePaper | December 26, 2019

Transforming the way governments serve the public is about more than choosing the right technologies. This level of change requires agencies to rethink how they engage their customers — from citizens and external partners to the frontline employees assisting the public.

Read More
news image

Securing the Internet of Things for the US Public Sector

whitePaper | November 26, 2019

The adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies by public sector entities can result in many benefits: increased public safety with video surveillance or street lights, traffic management systems to control vehicle flow, and enhanced medical experience with connected infusion pumps and monitoring systems that communicate with patient records systems. Providing these and other new capabilities, all while increasing employee productivity, is one of the key reasons we are seeing an explosion of IoT deployment in the public sector.

Read More
news image

Lock in your security maturity through strategic mainframe modernization

whitePaper | April 23, 2021

Today’s state and local government IT leaders are grappling with increasing vulnerabilities and threats to critical IT infrastructure as well as complex compliance requirements. Download this guide to learn how investment in mainframe modernization can help these organizations to maintain, secure and control data, applications and networks.

Read More
news image

Security Clearances for Contractors and Government Employees

whitePaper | January 29, 2020

Individual government contractors face more rigorous scrutiny, as private companies can monitor employee’s social media as part of their continuous vetting and insider threat protocols. However, despite the existence of a directive permitting them to do so, government agencies do not monitor their employees’ social media. Our interviews found this is due to a lack of clear guidance on how to implement the existing directives and security policies. This shortcoming can be remedied by government agencies agreeing upon a single common standard regarding the use of publicly available electronic information, specifically social media, for personnel security and insider threat purposes. The DNI, as Security Executive Agent for the government, must then develop guidelines for the implementation of this standard throughout the sector.

Read More
news image

Key tips to safeguard your government department

whitePaper | April 28, 2022

The Wall Street Journal called the hybrid workplace a “Cybersecurity Nightmare,” and characterized it as “a hacker’s dream—a constantly changing mix of office and remote workers, devices that move in and out of the company networks, and security staffs stretched thin.” The Wall Street Journal also briefly called out how organizations gain control over this environment – with strong identity-centric security and zero trust.

Read More
news image

ACTIVE DATA GOVERNANCE METHODOLOGY

whitePaper | November 21, 2022

Why Data Governance is on Everybody’s Mind Data governance is a hot topic. Its rising popularity is fueled by: Exploding data growth, Headlines on major data breaches, Expanding privacy regulations, Consumer & organizational concerns, New types of extrinsic security threats, and an overall trend of Market growth

Read More

Spotlight

Vriens & Partners

Vriens & Partners is a Singapore-based corporate advisory firm focused on Southeast Asia and specializing in government affairs, political risk analysis and public policy. The firm provides independent appraisals of the political risk associated with existing and potential investments, expert analysis of public policy issues and strategies for engaging local stakeholders.

Events