ABSTRACT

AANY COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC EFFECTS of major projects must address the thorny issue of valuing human life. This process raises three central questions: How does one measure the value of life? What are the ethical implications of doing so? And, ethically, should we attempt to attach a dollar value to human life itself? It is argued here that the question of whether we should attach a monetary value to life is basically irrelevant due to the fact that every public project entails some non-zero risk to human life. As a consequence, in making a choice among alternative projects, society is making an implicit judgment about the value of life. Making this value explicit leads to a more efficient, rational, and equitable decision process.