Central and local agencies face difficult resource-allocation decisions when confronted with projects that will reduce risks of death, injuries or diseases. The contingent valuation method has rendered considerable attention in environmental economics, in transport economics and, in recent years, also in health economics. It has increasingly been used to value public goods and the value of risk reduction. The purpose of this report is to present the Swedish study as well as some empirical tests of the properties of individuals' marginal value of risk reduction. The study was conducted during the autumn of 1986 and the spring of 1987, using a random sample of 1,000 individuals all over the country, age 18 - 74. The survey was carried out as a combined postal and telephone interview. The questionnaire contained 32 questions of three types: background variables (concerning age, income, accident experience etc), risk-perception questions (intended to consider the individual's own perception of accident and illness risks), and valuation questions (intended to provide values for changes in the risks of fatal and non-fatal accidents and diseases). (Author/publisher)
Abstract