An Investigation into Procedure (In)Variance in the Valuation of Mortality Risk Reductions

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate whether elicited preferences are affected by the presentation of mortality risks in a stated preference survey. A three-way split sample discrete choice experiment was conducted in which respondents were asked to express their willingness-to-pay for public risk reducing initiatives under different but outcome equivalent representation formats. Our results demonstrate that respondents exhibit much stronger preferences for public life saving interventions when these are framed in terms of avoided fatalities compared to corresponding mortality risk reductions. Furthermore, we find that less numerate respondents are more susceptible to the inclusion of the number of fatalities in the representation format. The same pattern is observed for respondents who express a higher degree of concern for a traffic accident. In conclusion our findings may justify presenting both type of risk information in valuation of mortality risk reductions in public settings.