I can't find any other sources stating that they have increased their VoSL to $12.5M - and from the section in the report it is referring to the 2021 VoSL which was still $4.88M (Social cost of road crashes and injuries June 2021 update.And at the same time, it increased an esoteric number called the VoSL – the Value of a Statistical Life – from $4.88m to a somewhat breathtaking $12.5m. That's an even bigger increase. — Steve H
That sentence is a bit ambiguous and the $12.5M might actually be referring to the value of life years (VoLY) which (from my understanding) is more of a health based value, which makes sense as the section it is referrenced in is regarding the costs of damage due to emissions (i.e. it is factoring in both fatalities and decreases in health outcomes into the cost).Damage costs in Table 9 have been calculated based on the 2021 value of life years (VoLY) derived from the 2021 value of statistical life (VoSL) of $12,500,000 (NZ$)... — NZTA's Monitised benefits and costs manual V1.6
H&S Professional: I recommend we spend $XYZ to reduce the risk of fatality or life altering injuries' to our workers because it is less than the calculated "QALY x remaining life expectancy" value of our workforce.You could crudely use the QALY x remaining life expectancy for a more accurate figure. — Andrew
But what is accurate in this endevour (and conversation) anyway - either source you choose from your figures is essentially just a thumb-suck, a somewhat arbitrary monitory value that (a sample of) society has placed on the cost it is willing to pay to prevent 1 additional death. Which is literally comparing the cost of saving lives with the opportunity cost of using that money for any other purposes.If people want to go down the path of valuing a human life they ought to at least try to do it accurately. — Andrew
I agree with this, but it will never really happen until we actually value all people equally irrespective of their skills or what benifits they can provide compared to others. If we continue to place a "market value" on each person, then there will always be justification to look after some people more than others. Whereas if we value that each person is contributing to society the best they can, it's hard to justify looking after one person more than another.Maybe we should look after people simply because it is the right thing to do. — Andrew
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