Computing the Value of a Human Life [S-15-17]
| Presenter: | Mark Frascatore |
|---|---|
| Location: | Potsdam Civic Center: Community Meeting Room (2 Park St.) |
| Classes: | 2 Sessions 1.5 hours |
| Dates: | Thu 3:30 PM 04/02, 04/09 |
| Status: | CLOSEDCourse Update: There is a second session (omitted on the print calendar) to "Computing the Value of a Human Life" and it is on 4/9 - same time and place. |
Print Info
No society places an infinite value on a statistical human life. We can’t afford it. Human lives are routinely risked and sometimes lost in efforts to achieve other goals. Understanding these tradeoffs can improve how we determine things like speed limits, drug safety standards, toxic waste cleanup, and so on. In this course we discuss how studies have estimated the dollar value that societies place on a statistical human life, and how this information can be used to better allocate the finite resources we have.
Mark Frascatore is a Professor of Economics and Financial Studies at Clarkson University. His research is in the area of microeconomic modeling, and he teaches courses that deal with workplace strategy, motivation, and compensation. His favorite topic of discussion is the analysis of decision making in the presence of uncertainty, and he will conduct some (mostly safe) experiments with the course participants to demonstrate attitudes towards risk. This information is then used as the foundation for determining the value of a statistical life.