Estimating the Economic Value of Statistical Life in China: A Study of the Willingness to Pay for Cancer Prevention

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a Contingent Valuation (CV) study on cancer prevention where Multiple-Bounded Dichotomous Choice (MBDC) questions are asked of rural residents in China about their willingness to pay (WTP) for a hypothetical cancer vaccine which is expected to be effective for one year. The WTP data are analyzed with region-, age- and gender-specific cancer morbidity and mortality risk statistics; an upper and lower bound of the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) are then estimated. The estimated VSL is between 481 and 814 thousand yuan (or 58 and 98 thousand US dollars) at 2000 constant prices, which is compatible with the results of previous studies.

Keywords

cancer vaccine / contingent valuation / WTP / MBDC format / VSL / rural China

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Brill