Valuation of a statistical life: a study on compensating wage differentials in India

This seminar considers compensating differentials and the value of a statistical life in the context of manufacturing workplace health and safety in Ahmedabad, India.

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) have been persistently neglected in Indian labour market. This study combines secondary data on occupations risks with data from a primary survey conducted in manufacturing industries of Ahmedabad, India to estimate the valuation of a statistical life (VSL), the effect of compensation benefits for occupational fatalities and injuries on worker’s wages, and compensation-adjusted VSL. The discount rates for long-term job-related health risks are also estimated for the sample of workers, given workers can be myopic when it comes to future health outcomes that results from their current choice of risky occupation. This study provides insights into job risks and OSH scenario of Indian labour market and its VSL and VSI (Valuation of statistical Injury) estimates can be used for assessment of government policies and projects aiming to reduce mortality risk.

Speaker: 

Professor S. Madheswaran is an acclaimed Development Economist and Econometrician in India. At present he is a Professor Head Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics and the Australia South Asia Research Centre at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.