This collection features major media coverage from U.S. and international outlets quoting W. Kip Viscusi on the economic value of saving lives, the valuation of statistical life, and the policy tradeoffs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As Economic Toll Mounts, Nation Ponders Trade-Offs” — Wall Street Journal (March 23, 2020)
• “Shutdown Spotlights Economic Cost of Saving Lives” — New York Times (March 24, 2020)
• “What Should The Government Spend To Save A Life?” — FiveThirtyEight (March 27, 2020)
• “Social distancing won’t just save lives. It might be better for the economy in the long run.” — Vox (March 31, 2020)
• “Pricing the lives saved by Coronavirus policies” — National Economic Education Delegation (April 8, 2020)
• “Your money or your life? Coronavirus-era economics makes us ask grim questions about how to value each other” — The Globe and Mail (April 13, 2020)
• “How much is a human life actually worth?” — Wired (May 11, 2020)
• “El valor de la vida sin precio” — La Vanguardia (Spain) (May 17, 2020)
• “Hvor meget er bedstemor egentlig værd i kroner og øre når virussen angriber” (How much is Grandma really worth?) — Politiken (Denmark) (May 18, 2020)