Skip to main content

Economic Valuation of Life and Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Health Economics

Abstract

‘Life is priceless.’ Most people would probably agree with this statement. However, decisions affecting lives are not only made by individuals but (necessarily) also by parliaments and public authorities on a regular basis. This implies weighing up the preservation and lengthening of human life against the input of scarce resources (i.e., money). Examples for such decisions in the public sector can be found not only in health care but also in many other sectors, especially those related to transportation and the environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Zweifel .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Zweifel, P., Breyer, F., Kifmann, M. (2009). Economic Valuation of Life and Health. In: Health Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68540-1_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68540-1_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-27804-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68540-1

  • eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics