When considering new policy that improves human health and well-being, regulators and industry are often able to estimate the costs of more stringent environmental policies, such as increased costs for regulated industries, higher costs of consumer products and higher administrative burden for regulators. It is equally important to weigh these costs against the economic benefits of the policy, such as improved health and reduced mortality.

The value of statistical life (VSL) is an increasingly common part of cost-benefit analyses that can be used to quantify the economic benefits of reduced mortality in a range of policy-relevant applications such as air quality improvements, traffic safety and health policy.

The OECD is currently preparing a comprehensive update of its estimated values of statistical life. The organisation’s goal is to make these values - including guidance for their application and transfer between countries - available at the beginning of 2025. The updated study is being prepared with the support of world-leading experts on economic valuation, health and the VSL.

The updated study will be a meta-analysis that is based on VSL studies from the early 1970s through 2023 and will be one of the most comprehensive meta-analyses ever attempted in this field.  Not only will it cover a vast number of studies, a doubling compared to OECD's 2012 study, but it will also combine -- for the first time -- revealed preference methodologies and stated preference methodologies to develop robust estimates of the VSL that can be applied to different policy situations and geographical contexts.

OECD published its first VSL study in 2012, Mortality Risk Valuation in Environment, Health and Transport Policies. This report provided a comprehensive overview of the range of VSL studies available at the time and provided VSL value estimates as well as guidance for how to transfer values between countries and policy applications. This study was a meta-analysis that was based on utilising all stated preference studies available until the end of 2009. The report provides detailed information and background on the approach used for estimating these values. Other VSL studies have been based on revealed preference estimation techniques.

The OECD’s VSL estimates have also been used as a base for other OECD studies, such as The Economic Consequences of Outdoor Air Pollution and OECD work on the air pollution-related health impacts of road transport.