Citation

Morisugi M, Mori R, Sakamoto N, Nakajima K, Ohno E. Transp. Res. Proc. 2017; 25: 2861-2876.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publications)

DOI

10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.267

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Time saving for emergency patient like as a case of heat stroke is eagerly anticipated especially in recent society of Japan. Though implementation new arterial high-standard road may make a considerable contribution, however in practical management, the way to evaluate in monetary terms such effects those related deeply with human life and health has not been established yet. One possible answer is to put the value of statistical one's life (VSL) into the benefit items, and in nowadays 226 million JPY is recommended by Cabinet Office in Japan nevertheless it has not been justified sufficiently. Therefore in this study, firstly we developed a theoretical model in which one tries to give an account of relationship between the research participants' age and their WTP for the suggested hypothetical service that has an effect of mortality risk reduction, namely "option". Actually, WTP is option price itself in this context and perfectly proportional with VSL. Secondly, several types of WTP and VSL are proposed for each generation of the participant. These empirical outcomes show rather consistent with the propositions in theoretical conjecture. Either of WTP of 20s or 30s is the lowest value among generations, in contrast, WTP of over 60 is the firstly or secondly largest value among them nevertheless they might have been retired already and income effect worked not so much. The elderly people seem to be willing to pay more than younger ages to build more safety society. In both viewpoints of theoretical and empirical analysis, WTP and VSL evidently differ among age groups and income groups. We confidently conclude that as the degree of VSL depends heavily on the subject regional circumstances, e.g. economic level, population structure, and so on, sufficient and elaborate preliminary investigation is minimum requirements to road project evaluation.

Language: en